MediaTek denied a Nikkei report that said it would help Huawei Technologies skirt United States sanctions by obtaining chips for them.

Nikkei reported on Monday that Huawei was seeking help from rival chip company MediaTek to circumvent U.S. sanctions. This follows Washington’s announcement on May 15 to extend its sanctions against Huawei — which they believe is helping the Chinese government conduct cyber espionage and technology theft.

The U.S. government last year banned exports of American products to Huawei after labelling the company as a national security risk. Under tightened restrictions announced last month, non-U.S. companies now too must apply for a licence to use American technology to produce chips for Huawei.

The report said Huawei was in talks with MediaTek, which would help them buy chips from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co, the world’s largest contract chip maker. TSMC produces high-end mobile processors for Huawei’s subsidiary HiSilicon but may not be able to continue to do so under U.S. sanctions.

MediaTek denied the accusation on Tuesday, saying it always abides by international trade regulations. Nikkei has since modified the story, adding that MediaTek has not accepted any orders from Huawei.

According to Nikkei’s report, TSMC has stopped taking new orders from Huawei but those placed before May 15 would not be affected as long as they could be shipped before September 14.

The report said Huawei was also in talks with Unisoc — China’s second-largest mobile chip designer after Huawei’s HiSilicon Technologies unit — to deepen semiconductor-related collaboration.

TSMC, in response to Nikkei’s report, said it would not comment on clients’ issues but it would abide by the law.

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