Mike Pompeo, the US secretary of state, has threatened a broad crackdown on Chinese tech companies with access to American data, including barring an unspecified number of the country’s apps and limiting its cloud computing groups that operate on American soil.

The threatened restrictions also include blocking Chinese telecoms companies from carrying international US calls and doing more to protect undersea cables. Mr Pompeo called on US software makers not to allow their apps to be pre-installed on Huawei handsets or appear in the company’s app store.

However, he did not say when or how the US would escalate its actions against Chinese technology companies. One big US tech company said it was “too early to speculate” on which Chinese apps might be involved, or what the enforcement mechanism would be, until the administration’s threats had hardened into action.