How 5G got tied up in a trade war between Trump and China

President Trump’s ban of Huawei and the ongoing trade war with China could have big implications for the future of 5G.

US President Donald Trump shakes hands with Chinese President Xi Jinping before a bilateral meeting during the G20 Summit last month.

What do 5G and the Chinese telecom-gear maker Huawei have to do with the escalating trade war between the US and China? In a word: everything. 5G, the next generation of wireless, will not only allow you to download an entire season of Stranger Things in minutes, but also serve as the foundation to support the next generation of infrastructure, including billions of internet-connected devices powering smart cities, cool new VR and AR applications and driverless cars.

Naturally, President Donald Trump wants the US to lead in 5G.

What’s at stake is more than just bragging rights; the outcome of the 5G race is likely to determine whether the US will continue to maintain its technological edge and shape geopolitics for the next couple of decades or if it’ll cede that control to China, which sees technological dominance as a way to become a world superpower.