Huawei’s chief legal officer went as far as saying "connectivity is a basic human right". Three billion customers across the world are facing the threat of having their welfare "damaged" apparently.

So the firm wants to speed things up. The other reason of course is that the assault from the Trump administration is biting.

Asked if the restrictions could be devastating to the company one executive said he wouldn’t use that word. Asked if the company would still be around in a year’s time he said its business plans go well beyond next year.

This is a company that insists it is - proudly - privately owned. Its HQ is not a place dotted with political paraphernalia. Nonetheless I asked if the two senior executives present were members of China’s prevailing Communist Party. One said he wasn’t. The other wouldn’t say.