Huawei has to be the poster child for Chinese tech firms that have become internationally successful. In a remarkably short time, Huawei has expanded phenomenally from a small electronics manufacturer to a global tech leader that is instantly associated with innovative high-tech products. Although Huawei as a brand is more popular because of its mobile phones, it has a major presence in cloud services and AI. Today, Huawei's products and solutions are installed in more than 170 countries around the world, and it serves more than a third of the world's population. Employing more than 180,000 people around the world, Huawei is the third biggest global manufacturer of routers, switches, and other telecommunications equipment based on market share. In the super-competitive smartphone race where it is more popularly known, it has become a dominant player, taking on the big global giants like Apple and Samsung.

How important are political factors with regard to Huawei's ambition to be the leading provider of 5G technology globally?