China slams Huawei executive’s arrest
Beijing reacts furiously after top chief of Chinese telecom giant Huawei was held in Canada following US extradition request, threatening to rattle trade war truce with US
China reacted furiously on Thursday after a top executive and daughter of the founder of Chinese telecom giant Huawei was arrested in Canada following a US extradition request, threatening to rattle a trade war truce with the United States.
The detention of Meng Wanzhou, HUAWEI’S CHIEF inancial oficer, Comes after American authorities reportedly launched an investigation into suspected Iran sanctions violations by Huawei, which was already under scrutiny by US INTELLIGENCE oficials who DEEMED the company a national security threat.
The arrest stirred tensions just as the United States and China agreed to A CEASEFIRE In THEIR TRADE spat WHILE negotiators seek a deal within three months.
“We have made solemn representations to Canada and the US, demanding that both parties immediately clarify the reasons for the detention, and immediately release the detainee to protect the person’s legal rights,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang told a regular press BRIEFING In BEIJING.
Meng was arrested in the western city of Vancouver on Dec.1, Canada’s ministry of justice said in a statement on Wednesday, prompting China’s embassy to say it had “seriously harmed the human rights of the victim.”
The ministry said the US is seeking her extradition and she faces a bail hearing on Friday, adding it could not provide further details due to a publication ban that was sought by Meng, whose father, Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei, is a former Chinese People’s Liberation Army engineer.
Huawei, which overtook Apple as the world’s number two smartphone maker this year, said it was unaware of any wrongdoing by Meng and was provided “very little information” about the charges.
“Huawei complies with all applicable laws and regulations where it operates, including applicable export control and sanction laws and regulations of the UN, US and EU,” the company said in a statement.
The Wall Street Journal reported in April that the US Department of Justice had opened an investigation into suspected violations of Iran sanctions by Huawei.
The New York Times said the company had been subpoenaed by the US Commerce and Treasury Departments over alleged violations of Iran and North Korea sanctions.
“China is working creatively to undermine our national security interests, and the United States and our allies can’t sit on the sidelines,” said US Senator Ben Sasse in a statement linking the arrest to US sanctions against Iran.
The arrest occurred on the same day that US President Donald Trump and Xi struck the trade war truce at a summit in Argentina.
Ye Tan, an independent Chinese economist, said Meng’s arrest could be used as a “bargaining chip” in the trade talks.
“The talks will continue but it’s going to be a lot more tense with higher stakes,” Ye said.
But Geng, the foreign ministry spokesman, said both countries will follow the agreement reached by Trump and Xi to “increase consultations, and work towards an earliest possible mutually BENEFICIAL AGREEMENT.”
The commerce ministry said separately it will “immediately implement” measures reached under the trade truce, which includes agricultural products, energy and autos, and was “Confident” A DEAL Could BE REACHED In the coming 90 days.
News of her detention rippled through Asian stock markets, with Shanghai AND Hong Kong FALLING AND TECH irms among the worst hit.
BEIJING: The daughter of Huawei’s founder, a top executive at the Chinese technology giant, was arrested in Canada and faces extradition to the United States, roiling global stock markets as it threatened to inflame Sino-us trade tensions afresh.
The shock arrest of Meng Wanzhou, 46, who is Huawei Technologies Co Ltd’s chief financial officer, raises fresh doubts over a 90-day truce on trade struck between Presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping on Saturday - the day she was detained.
Her arrest, revealed late on Wednesday by Canadian authorities, is related to US sanctions, a person familiar with the matter said.
Sources told Reuters in April that US authorities have been investigating Huawei, the world’s largest telecoms equipment maker, since at least 2016 for allegedly shipping Us-origin products to Iran and other countries in violation of US export and sanctions laws.
The arrest and any potential sanctions on the world’s second biggest smartphone maker could have major repercussions on the global technology supply chain.
Huawei is already under intense scrutiny from US and other western governments about its ties to the Chinese government, driven by concerns it could be used by the state for spying. It has been locked out of the United States and some other markets for telecom gear. Huawei has repeatedly insisted Beijing has no influence over it. US stock futures and Asian shares tumbled as news of the arrest heightened the sense a major collision was brewing between the world’s two largest economic powers, not just over tariffs but also over technological hegemony.
Huawei is not listed, but China’s second-largest telecom equipment maker, ZTE Corp, sank nearly 6 per cent in Hong Kong while most of the nearby national bourses lost at least 2 per cent.