TIANJIN, China: As technicians in a distant control room watch on display screens, an automated crane at one of China's busiest ports moves cargo containers from a South Korean freighter to self-driving trucks in a scene that tech giant Huawei sees as its future after American sanctions crushed its smartphone brand.

The backbone of the 'smart terminal' at the Tianjin Port, east of the capital Beijing, is a data network built by Huawei, which is reinventing itself as a supplier for self-driving cars, factories and other industries it hopes would be less vulnerable to Washington's worsening feud with Beijing over technology and security.