【明報專訊】THE US government has filed an all-encompassing array of 23 criminal charges against Huawei Technologies and its deputy chairwoman Sabrina Meng Wanzhou. Washington's sabre-rattling on the eve of high-level meetings between the two countries again has inevitably overshadowed the Sino-US trade talks. The indictment against Huawei is only one of the US's moves in its all-out attack on the company. Washington's even more ambitious campaign is the mobilisation of other countries to ditch Huawei and restrain the development of Chinese technology. Beijing should keep its eyes on both the ongoing battle and the overall situation. The current Sino-US trade and technology war is not simply a contest between two countries. It is also a race of lining up international alliances. At present, Beijing is pursuing the strategy of "strengthening the defense and clearing the fields" to prevent Washington from obtaining any political ammunition to isolate it. Defending China's development model and safeguarding Huawei's position in the 5G battlefield of Europe will be the two major strategic goals of China in the trade talks.