News that Qualcomm had been granted permission to sell 4G chips to Huawei was significant but a far smaller surprise than the licensing agreement signed over three months earlier in late July 2020. After all, similar permission had been granted to Intel in September for chips covering PCs and laptops, although the Qualcomm move was more noteworthy given that US action against Huawei was focused on the mobile communications arena. Both moves reflect the reality that China is the world’s biggest market for chips alongside the US itself and its major players have been lobbying hard to maintain access in areas not seen to conflict with the primary focus on 5G. Indeed, Qualcomm is still prohibited from selling its 5G…