I'm confused by the premise here, as repeated in the title and initial sentence:

Huawei Technologies on Thursday unveiled its first laptop that runs the company’s self-developed operating system, HarmonyOS, following the expiration of its Microsoft Windows license for personal computers (PCs) in March.

What kind of Windows license are we talking about here? I understood that Huawei is a hardware manufacturer. Any Windows license on a laptop they deliver would be an OEM license attached to the device, right? Are they saying that Huawei lost its contract to sell Windows OEM licenses with the devices it manufactures?

Is that a thing? Does Microsoft say to hardware makers that no, you cannot sell your hardware with Windows? What kind of dispute between Microsoft and Huawei leads to that outcome?