A member of Huawei's reception staff walks in front of a large screen displaying the logo in the foyer of a building used for high-profile visits. Photo: VCG

A major science publisher lifted a restriction on Monday morning on Huawei employees, who were earlier banned from reviewing papers due to US sanctions on the Chinese company. 

"Employees of Huawei and its affiliates may participate as peer reviewers and editors in our publication process," the New York-based Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) said in a statement. 

All IEEE members, regardless of employer, can continue to participate in all of the activities of the IEEE, according to the statement. 

The move comes after Chinese academics protested strongly over the decision by IEEE to ban Huawei employees from peer review following US sanctions on Huawei, which undermined the free spirit of scientific research. 

China Computer Federation, a major computer research body, cut ties on Thursday with IEEE after it officially issued a statement to restrict Huawei employees from participating in certain activities. 

Ten industry associations in China jointly issued a statement on Sunday to protest against IEEE's decision to ban Huawei employees from peer-reviewing papers, according to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. 

"Science has no borders. As a non-political and non-profit organization with broad international influence, IEEE has completely deviated from its long-term values such as being trustworthy and nondiscriminatory," the statement said. 

The incident was a serious case of discrimination against all the scientists and institutions, becoming a crisis in the academic world. 

IEEE corrected its mistakes under tremendous pressure from the public, as the ban not only shocked scholars worldwide but also seriously jeopardized the core values of academic freedom. 

"In this battle, Huawei and Chinese academics are safeguarding the international standards and shared values of the science world, and the Chinese side has gained the victory," Mei Xinyu, a veteran analyst close to the Ministry of Commerce, told the Global Times on Monday. 

The global science and tech community cannot ignore the rise of Chinese scholars, especially after they have been contributing more to global scientific research, the analyst noted. "This is like how the WTO wouldn't exist without the participation of China, the largest exporter in the world," he said. 

China has clarified its stance amid escalated the China and US trade war, which has already become a tech war. 

For instance, the Ministry of Commerce announced on Friday it will soon release a non-reliable entity list, which will include foreign entities, individuals and companies that block and shut the supply chain or take discriminatory measures for non-commercial reasons.

"It's also likely that IEEE is afraid of being included on the list," Mei said.