The drama started when AMD, Intel's arch-rival, cried foul, moaning it didn't get the same sweet deal to sell its chips to Huawei. Meanwhile, the China hawks were circling, eager to slam the brakes on any sales to the firm.

Huawei is not just sitting pretty; thanks to Intel's chips, it's nabbing a slice of the global laptop pie. But AMD is missing out on a hefty payday, and it is not happy about it.

Senator Marco Rubio's up in arms, demanding Biden yank Intel's license pronto, especially since they're pocketing taxpayer cash to beef up chip production stateside. Rubio’s dislike of the deal is a little ironic given that it was signed off by his chum Donald Trump in his last days off office. Just as Trump packed his bags to leave the White House, his Commerce Department tossed Intel a lifeline, letting them sell certain parts to Huawei.

Intel and Huawei are keeping schtum, and the Commerce Department and the White House are zipping their lips too. AMD's radio silent.

 Over at the Chinese Embassy, they're calling the whole shebang "economic bullying" and telling the US to ease up on the whole national security excuse.

AMD tried to get in on the action once Biden moved into the Oval Office but got ghosted instead. But the numbers don't lie – AMD's share of Huawei laptops tanked, while Intel's went through the roof.

The plot thickened last year when whispers of a license crackdown spread. But then, the plans were shelved, and nobody's saying why.

Some reckon it's all part of a bigger dance as the US and China try to smooth things over after that spy balloon kerfuffle turned the chill factor up a notch.

Intel's time might be running out, with its license on the chopping block later this year. But for now, Huawei's laptops are still chock-full of Intel brains. Back in China, Huawei is climbing the ladder, overtaking Dell to snag the bronze in the laptop league.

Analysts reckon if Intel gets cut off, Huawei will have a tough time. But they're not the only ones playing the chip game—Qualcomm also had a piece of the action, while Mediatek got left out in the cold.