Washington | Globalisation as we know it has peaked and will be weighed down by an already ferocious strategic battle over technological supremacy between the US and China, says former Australian ambassador Michael Thawley.

In a lengthy Lunch with AFR Weekend interview, the close confidant to John Howard and Tony Abbott argues the row over Chinese tech giant Huawei is just a small example of a spreading contest that investors and policy makers in Australia haven't come to terms with yet.