Conspiracy theorists suggest US ban on Huawei due to 50x super spy lens

Conspiracy theorists have argued, perhaps tongue in cheek, that the real reason for the U.S. trade ban on Huawei is the 'insane' digital zoom on the Chinese company's cell phone cameras.

The U.S. Commerce Department blocked Huawei Technologies from buying U.S. goods last week, saying the company assists Chinese state intelligence agencies and violated Iran sanctions.

Chinese diplomat Zhao Lijian, the deputy chief-of-mission at the Chinese embassy in Islamabad, responded by sharing a video on Twitter showing the Huawei P30 Pro's 50x digital zoom focusing on two boys playing Chinese chess in a park from many stories above.

'Why is Huawei making America tremble and go insane? Huawei's new phone camera's optical zoom is just insane,' Zhao wrote. 

Huawei released the P30 in March, though the phones cannot be bought in the US officially. In 2017 the company accounted for only two percent of the smartphones in America, although the company ships more than 200million units per year.

Unlocked Latin American versions compatible with some major U.S. carriers can be purchased online, but the appeal of the handsets in the U.S. seems limited mostly to smartphone junkies and tech journalists.

Photos and video posted online show the phone's powerful zoom.

'Crazy zoom. Impressed with the versatility of this camera,' one user wrote on Twitter. 

'The Zoom capabilities on the Huawei P30 Pro are insane,' another remarked. 

The Trump administration's order last week steps up pressure on Huawei, which Washington says is a security risk, and threatens to hamper sales of network gear and other products. 

Huawei is the No. 2 global smartphone brand but relies on Google's Android operating system and U.S. components suppliers. 

On Monday, the Commerce Department granted Huawei a license to buy U.S. goods until August 19 to maintain existing telecoms networks and provide software updates to Huawei smartphones, a move intended to give telecom operators that rely on Huawei time to make other arrangements.

Huawei is still prohibited from buying American-made hardware and software to make new products without further, hard-to-obtain licenses.

Monday's temporary license is likely to allow companies such as Google to continue providing service and support, including software updates or patches, to Huawei smartphones that were available to the public on or before May 16.

'Keeping phones up to date and secure is in everyone's best interests and this temporary license allows us to continue to provide software updates and security patches to existing models for the next 90 days,' a Google spokesperson told CNBC in an email on Tuesday.

US tech stocks rose on Tuesday on news of the grace period. Chipmakers rallied, with Qualcomm gaining 2.1 per cent.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite was up 1.2 per cent in mid-morning trading. Google shares were up 0.95 per cent, after opening down on Monday after news of the trading ban. 

In Europe, the tech sector rose 1.49 per cent after losing almost 3 per cent on Monday, as chipmakers AMS AG of Austria, Franco-Italian STMicroelectronics and Germany's Infineon all gained. 

Huawei is still prohibited from buying American-made hardware and software to make new products without further, hard-to-obtain licenses.