President Donald Trump said Thursday that the U.S. must lead the world in next-generation 5G cell phone technology – and whatever comes next – less than 90 minutes after Huawei's founder boasted on television of China's lead in the tech race and thanked U.S. officials for boosting his bottom line by publicly fretting about it.

In what appears to be a signal of a coming policy shift, the president tweeted Thursday that he wants the U.S. 'to win through competition, not by blocking out currently more advanced technologies.'

While the Trump administration considers the Chinese tech giant's equipment a national security threat, the Shenzhen-based company has 5G rollout contracts with nearly 30 other countries. 5G networks will move data dramatically faster than existing 4G signals.

Allowing Huawei's mobile phone equipment back into U.S. markets could be a carrot for Beijing as Trump's negotiators hash out a new trade framework with the world's second largest economy.

'We are rolling out 5G and soon we'll welcome 6G. And in the future ... there will be new equipment that is suitable for the United States' Huawei founder Ren Zhenfei said in a 'CBS This Morning' interview, speaking through a translator.

A White House official said Thursday morning that it was 'highly likely' Trump saw the broadcast before tweeting.

President Donald Trump signaled Thursday that he may be interested in pulling back ona ban of Huawei's cell phone equipment in the U.S. as part of a larger China trade deal, tweeting that the U.S. shouldn't win the 5G mobile arms race by 'blocking out currently more advanced technologies'

Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei appeared Thursday morning on CBS, trolling the Trump administration for promoting his company's technology by emlarging the public profile of the 5G arms race

'First of all, I would like to thank them,' Ren said of U.S. officials who have turned the 5G arms race into an international sparring match.

'5G was not known by common people. But now, these great figures are all talking about 5G ... And we're becoming more influential and getting more contracts,' he said.

Asked if he was being sarcastic, Ren smiled. 'Oh, please tell them – I'm actually thanking them for promoting us,' he said.

Ren told the BBC on Monday that his company would ultimately emerge unscathed from America's blacklist.

'There's no way the US can crush us,' he said. 'The world cannot leave us because we are more advanced.'

Trump's response indicates the business fight is at the top of Trump's mind.

Trump tweeted less than 90 minutes after Ren's TV interview aired, saying the U.S. should lead on 5G 'and even 6G' but shouldn't necessarily be freezing non-U.S. competitors out of the market in the meantime; a White House official said it was 'highliy likely' that Trump saww the CBS broadcast

'I want 5G, and even 6G, technology in the United States as soon as possible. It is far more powerful, faster, and smarter than the current standard. American companies must step up their efforts, or get left behind. There is no reason that we should be lagging behind on something that is so obviously the future,' the president said in a pair of tweets.

'I want the United States to win through competition, not by blocking out currently more advanced technologies. We must always be the leader in everything we do, especially when it comes to the very exciting world of technology!'

Ren downplayed the significance of 5G technology itself, dismissing the idea that it promises the same power to reshape the world as 'some other military equipment.'

'5G is not an atomic bomb,' he said.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo struck a more aggressive tone than the president on Thursday, telling a Fox Business Network interviewer that there will be diplomatic and intelligence-sharing consequences for U.S. allies that choose to give Huawei equipment access to sensitive computer networks.

'These systems were designed by – with express work alongside the Chinese PLA, their military in China,' Pompeo said, referring to Huawei's 5G technology.

'They are creating a real risk for these countries and their systems, the security of their people.'

'If a country adopts this and puts it in some of their critical information systems,' Pompeo added, 'we won't be able to share information with them. We won't be able to work alongside them. In some cases there's risk we won’t even be able to co-locate American resources in American Embassy or in American military outpost.'

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Thursday morning in a Fox Business Network interview that allies who choose to connect Huawei equipment to their critical networks might risk losing information-sharing arrangements with the United States

Huawei has not produced a 'credible plan' explaining how it will deal with security problems, Cyber Chiefs at the UK's spy headquarters have said –but the company already has 5G rollout deals with nearly 30 countries

While Trump was tweeting, China's trade delegation was assembling in the Indian Treaty Room just a short walk away from the White House in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building.

Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin and U.S. Trade Representative Andrew Lighthizer sat across a table from Chinese Vice Premier Liu He Chinese Ambassador to the U.S. Cui Tiankai and Yi Gang, Governor of the People's Bank of China.

China's vice finance minister, vice foreign minister, vice agriculture minister and vice commerce minister also attended. Thursday marked the fourth time Liu has traveled to the U.S. for trade talks.

U.S. allies are skeptical of the Trump administration's fears about China covertly using Huawei equipment for intelligence-gathering, but cyber chiefs at the UK’s spy headquarters acknowledged Wednesday that Huawei has not addressed security concerns.

'Last year we said we found some worrying engineering and security issues,’ GCHQ cybersecurity technical director Dr. Ian Levy said. 'As of today, we have not seen a credible plan. That’s the reality of the situation unfortunately.'

But a more GCHQ official said Wednesday in Brussels that Britain's stringent inspections of Huawei handsets and other gear is sufficient to ensure they don't present security risks.

UK National Cyber Security Center chief Ciaran Martin said Huawei has had a presence on the nation's telecom networks for more than 15 years.

'Our regime is arguably the toughest and most rigorous oversight regime in the world for Huawei,' adding that Huawei equipment 'is not in any sensitive networks, including those of the government.'

Those comments appeared in The New York Times on Thursday, in a story splashed across the front page of the paper's business section.