NEW YORK, April 4 (Reuters) - The U.S. Justice

Department's criminal case accusing China's Huawei of misleading

banks about the tech company's business in Iran, among other

charges, is heading toward a January 2026 trial.

The case, which has strained U.S.-China ties, began in 2018

with a sealed indictment that led to Huawei's chief financial

officer, Meng Wanzhou, being detained in Vancouver, Canada, on a

U.S. warrant. As part of a 2021 deal, the charges against her

were eventually dismissed.

The broader case against Huawei is pending. Huawei has

pleaded not guilty.

At a status conference on Thursday in Brooklyn, New York,

Assistant U.S. Attorney Alex Solomon told U.S. District Judge

Ann Donnelly that "settlement discussions ended in an impasse.

We believe it would be prudent to schedule a trial date."

The judge said she thought a "good placeholder" date for the

trial to start would be the beginning of January 2026.

Solomon said prosecutors expect the trial to last four to

six months.

Douglas Axel, a lawyer for Huawei, said the company has a

pending motion to split the case, a step prosecutors suggested

they would oppose.

Huawei was indicted in 2018 as U.S. prosecutors accused the

company of misleading HSBC and other banks about its business in

Iran, which is subject to U.S. sanctions.

In 2020, the Justice Department added more charges to the

case, including that Huawei allegedly conspired to steal trade

secrets from six U.S. technology companies and helped Iran track

protesters during anti-government demonstrations in 2009.