China protests Huawei CFO arrest
Tells US to withdraw warrant, says Canada will face consequences
BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s foreign ministry called in the US ambassador on Sunday to lodge a “strong protest” over the arrest in Canada of Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd’s chief financial officer, and said the United States should withdraw its arrest warrant.
Meng Wanzhou, Huawei’s global chief financial officer, was arrested in Canada on December 1 and faces extradition to the United States, which alleges that she covered up her company’s links to a firm that tried to sell equipment to Iran despite sanctions.
The executive is also the daughter of the founder of Huawei.
Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Le Yucheng told US Ambassador Terry Branstad that the United States had made an “unreasonable demand” on Canada to detain Meng while she was passing through Vancouver, China’s Foreign Ministry said.
“The actions of the US seriously violated the lawful and legitimate rights of the Chinese citizen, and by their nature were extremely nasty,” Le told Branstad, comments similar to those he made to Canada’s ambassador the night before.
In a short statement to Canada, China’s Foreign Ministry said Le had issued the warning to release Meng to Canada’s ambassador in Beijing, summoning him to lodge a “strong protest.”
Adam Austen, a spokesman for Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland, said Saturday there is “nothing to add beyond what the Minister said yesterday.”
Freeland told reporters on Friday that relationship with China is important and valued, and Canada’s ambassador in Beijing has assured Chinese that consular access will be provided to Meng.
When asked about the possible Chinese backlash after the arrest of Huawei’s CFO, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told reporters on Friday that Canada has a very good relationship with Beijing.
Canada’s arrest of Meng at the request of the United States while she was changing plane in Vancouver was a serious breach of her lawful rights, Le said.
The move “ignored the law, was unreasonable” and was in its very nature “extremely nasty,” he added.
“China strongly urges the Canadian side to immediately release the detained person, and earnestly protect their lawful, legitimate rights, otherwise Canada must accept full responsibility for the serious consequences caused.”
The statement did not elaborate. “There will probably be a deep freeze with the Chinese in high-level visits and exchanges,” David Mulroney, former Canadian ambassador to China, said on Friday.
“The ability to talk about free trade will be put in the ice box for a while. But we’re going to have to live with that. That’s the price of dealing with a country like China.”
On Sunday, the ruling Communist Party’s official People’s Daily said that while China would not “cause trouble,” it also did not fear trouble and that nobody should underestimate China’s determination on this case.
“Only if the Canadian side corrects its mistake and immediately stops infringing upon the lawful, legitimate rights of a Chinese citizen and gives a proper accounting to the Chinese people can it avoid paying a heavy price for this,” it said in an editorial.