Huawei pulled a really smart one. Placed big orders on 4G chips let the US think they cannot sell 5G phones anymore. Then, they developed a phone case that adds 5G functionality to the 4G phones. Brilliant! The 5G phone case add-ons will go on sale soon in China...
Huawei also has another surprise up their sleeves for the USA. They're aiming to release/make 3D-stacked chips that has similar performance to leading edge chips. They're ahead of every one in 5G equipment and also in 3D stacking patents/technology.
Then, when the USA finally figures out a way to sanction Huawei 5G phone cases, it will be too late! China will have already developed EUV lithography to make leading edge chips of their own... Allowing Huawei to resume production of Kirin chips free from sanctions!
The latest Huawei Mate 50-series leak might cast aspersions on the possibility of an upgrade to the latest Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 Plus platform for these premium-tier phablets. In fact, the OEM is now tipped to try and detract from that contingency with an emphasis on cutting-edge software and computational photography during its next flagship launch event instead.