China suffered a blow this week with Britain’s decision to remove Huawei from its 5G network. But the timeline for that removal and growing international frustration toward Beijing’s arrogance explains why China’s reaction has been more muted than many would have expected.

Beijing is focused on the long-term expansion of its trade and political power. Albeit a significant one, Huawei is just one part of that strategy, not its citadel. This is not to say China isn’t angry with Britain. Reacting to Boris Johnson’s change, of course, the prime minister originally authorized Huawei to build out part of the United Kingdom’s 5G network, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson claimed he had “eroded mutual trust underpinning China-U.K. cooperation. China strongly opposes this move. It is not just about one company and one industrial sector. It is about the U.K. politicizing commercial and technological issues at all costs.”