With more than 1,300 American firms that include over 300 regional headquarters, Hong Kong has long been the de facto launching point for foreign businesses that seek riches within the vast Chinese market, but also value the operational familiarity of the former British colony. It comes as an uncomfortable truth to many, then, that the city’s stature as the bridge between the East and the West may be crumbling under the weight of the newly minted NSL that threatens to undermine the autonomy that has elevated Hong Kong into a pillar of US-China relations.

Huawei’s global rise as a leader in 5G technology creates an opportunity for Washington to bring China back to the foreign policy table. Instead of instituting economic sanctions that indirectly hamper US innovation while driving Chinese progress, Washington should engage China in the evolving arms-race of 5G technology. With an active role contributing to global 5G standards, US companies can use their expertise in semiconductor production technology to guide global discourse while US regulators focus on intellectual property theft and other trade infringements.