Arrest ‘extremely egregious’
China summoned the US ambassador to Beijing yesterday to protest the detention of an executive of Chinese electronics giant Huawei in Canada at Washington’s behest and demanded Washington cancel an order for her arrest.
The official
said Vice Foreign Minister Le Yucheng ‘‘lodged solemn representations and strong protests’’ with Ambassador Terry Branstad against the detention of Huawei’s chief financial officer, Meng Wanzhou. Meng, who is reportedly suspected of trying to evade US trade curbs on Iran, was detained on December 1 while changing planes in Vancouver, Canada. The report quoted Le as calling Meng’s detention ‘‘extremely egregious’’ and demanded the US vacate an order for her arrest. It quoted Le as calling for the US to ‘‘immediately correct its wrong actions’’ and said it would take further steps based on Washington’s response.
The move followed the summoning of Canadian Ambassador John McCallum on Sunday over Meng’s detention and a similar protest warning of ‘‘grave consequences’’ if she is not released.
The Canadian province of British Columbia said in a statement yesterday it cancelled a trade mission to China because of Meng’s detention. The announcement came amid fears China could detail Canadians in retaliation.
Huawei is the biggest global supplier of network gear for phone and internet companies and has been the target of deepening US security concerns over its ties to the Chinese government.
The US has pressured European countries and other allies to limit use of its technology, warning they could be opening themselves up to surveillance and theft of information.