China summons US ambassador over Huawei arrest

TORONTO/BEIJING (AFP/Reuters) - China summoned the US ambassador on Sunday to protest the arrest of a top executive from telecom giant Huawei in Canada, as Washington's top trade negotiator rejected suggestions that the case could affect talks aimed at settling a trade war.

Huawei Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou argued that she should be released on bail while awaiting an extradition hearing, citing fears for her health while incarcerated in Canada along with other factors, court documents showed on Sunday.

Meng is fighting to be released on bail after she was arrested on Dec. 1 in Vancouver at the request of the United States. Meng, 46, faces US accusations that she misled multinational banks about Huawei’s control of a company operating in Iran. This deception put the banks at risk of violating US sanctions and incurring severe penalties, court documents said. China has criticized her detention and demanded her immediate release.

The arrest has roiled global markets as investors worried it could torpedo attempts to thaw trade tensions between Washington and Beijing. In a sworn affidavit, Meng, the daughter of Huawei’s founder, said she is innocent of the allegations.

The arrest of Meng has infuriated Beijing, which demanded Washington drop its extradition request, and stoked tensions during the trade war truce between China and the United States.

Meng faces US fraud charges related to alleged sanctions-breaking dealings with Iran.

But with negotiations underway against a ''hard deadline'' of March 1 to settle the tariff dispute between the world's two biggest economies, US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said he did not expect the arrest to disrupt the talks.

Meng, the daughter of Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei, is in custody awaiting a Canadian court's decision on bail on Monday.

Vice Foreign Minister Le Yucheng summoned US ambassador Terry Branstad one day after he called in Canadian envoy John McCallum to voice China's displeasure.

''Le Yucheng pointed out that the US side has seriously violated the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese citizens, and the nature of the violation is extremely bad,'' the foreign ministry said in a statement.

''The Chinese side firmly opposes this and strongly urges the United States to attach great importance to China's solemn and just position,'' it said.

China also urged the United States to ''take immediate measures to correct wrong practices, and revoke the arrest warrant against the Chinese citizen.''