The snarky reply signals to the ban on the use of Huawei devices by US government agencies, signed into law by President Trump himself back in August. It followed years of suspicion regarding the tech giant's ties with the Chinese government and accusations of "bribery, corruption, discriminatory behavior and copyright infringement." Australia, too, recently banned Huawei from supplying 5G tech, while US senators are urging Canada to do the same.

Spokeswoman Hua Chunying -- deputy director of the Chinese foreign ministry's information department -- also borrowed one of Trump's favourite phrases to dismiss the findings of yesterday's New York Times report, branding it "fake news."

"Seeing this report, I feel there are those in America who are working all-out to win the Oscar for best screenplay," Hua said at the ministry's regular briefing in Beijing on Thursday, according to the South China Morning Post.

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