Huawei exec arrest riles China media

BEIJING: Chinese state-run media yesterday condemned the arrest in Canada of a top executive of telecoms giant Huawei on a US extradition request as a “despicable rogue’s approach” to contain Chinese hightech ambitions.

The arrest of Meng Wanzhou, chief financial officer and daughter of the company’s founder, has angered the Chinese government and raised concerns that it could disrupt a trade war truce between the world’s two biggest economies.

Canada defended the arrest on Thursday, saying there was no political motivation, and a senior adviser to US President Donald Trump denied it was linked to US-China trade talks.

But Chinese media cast the move as an assault on the development of the country’s high-tech industry.

“The Chinese government should seriously mull over the US tendency to abuse legal procedures to suppress China’s hightech enterprises,” said the nationalist tabloid Global Times in an editorial.

“Obviously, Washington is resorting to a despicable rogue’s approach as it cannot stop Huawei’s 5G advance in the market,” it said.

The China Daily warned that “containing Huawei’s expansion is detrimental to China-US ties”.

US authorities have not disclosed the charges she faces following a publication ban sought by Ms Meng, but “one thing that is undoubtedly true and proven is the US is trying to do whatever it can to contain Huawei’s expansion in the world simply because the company is the point man for China’s competitive technology companies,” the daily said.

Ms Meng’s arrest follows a US probe into the company’s alleged violations of Iran sanctions. She faced a bail hearing in Canada yesterday.

Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said yesterday that the detention of Chinese technology giant Huawei’s chief financial officer in Canada was an example of “arrogant” US policy abroad.

China has also expressed serious concern about media reports that Japan might exclude Chinese telecom equipment makers Huawei Technologies and ZTE Corp from government purchases.

The Japanese newspaper Yomiuri reported that Tokyo might take the step because of security concerns, as the United States and some other countries have done recently.

Though China’s technology sector is still reliant on certain US exports like microchips, Beijing wants to transform the country into a global tech leader — with a technological prowess rivalling the United States — in a plan dubbed “Made in China 2025”.

Huawei is one of the world’s largest telecommunications equipment and services providers. Its products are used by carriers around the world, including in Europe and Africa.

But its US business has been tightly constrained by worries it could undermine American competitors and that its cellphones and networking equipment, used widely in other countries, could provide Beijing with avenues for espionage.

Australia, New Zealand and Britain have followed suit this year by rejecting some of the company’s services over security concerns.