China demands Canada release executive of tech giant Huawei
Sources: CFO may be trying to evade U.S. trade curbs on Iran.
BEIJING - China on Thursday demanded that Canada release an executive of Chinese tech giant Huawei who was arrested in a case that compounds tensions with the U.S. and threatens to compli- cate trade talks.
Meng Wanzhou, chief-financial officer of Huawei Technologies Ltd., faces possible extradition to the United States, according to Canadian authorities. The Globe and Mail newspaper, citing law enforcement sources, said she is suspected of trying to evade U.S. trade curbs on Iran.
Huawei, the biggest global supplier of network gear used by phone and internet companies, has been the target of deepening U.S. security concerns. Under President Don- ald Trump and his predecessor, Barack Obama, Washington has pressured European countries and other allies to limit use of its technology.
The U.S. sees Huawei and smaller Chinese tech suppli- ers as possible fronts for spying and as commercial competitors. The Trump administration says they benefit from improper subsidies and mar- ket barriers.
The timing of the arrest is awkward following the announcement of a U.S.-Chinese cease-fire in a trade war that has its roots in Beijing’s technology policy. Meng was detained in Vancouver on Saturday, the day Trump and Xi Jinping met in Argentina and announced their deal.
U.S. national security adviser John Bolton told NPR that he knew of the pending arrest in advance. He declined to talk about the specifics of the case and said he didn’t know if Trump knew about before it happened but added that there has been enormous concern about the practice of Chinese firms like Huawei allegedly using stolen U.S. intellectual property. He said that would be a major subject of negotiations with China.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he was given a few days’ advance notice of the intention of Cana- dian authorities to arrest her but said it was the decision of law enforcement and there was no political interference.
“I can assure everyone that we are a country of an inde- pendent judiciary, and the appropriate authorities took the decisions in this case without any political involvement or interference,” Trudeau said.
He also said he could not comment further because of a publication ban. A spokesman for Canada’s justice department said Meng requested the ban and the department could not comment further.
A Chinese government statement said Meng broke no U.S. or Canadian laws and demanded Canada “immediately correct the mistake” and release her.
Beijing asked Washington and Ottawa to explain the reason for Meng’s arrest, said a Foreign Ministry spokesman, Geng Shuang. He said arresting her without that violated her human rights.
But the Ministry of Commerce signaled that Beijing wants to avoid disrupting prog- ress toward settling a dispute with Washington over technol- ogy policy that has led them to raise tariffs on billions of dollars of each other’s goods.
China is confident they can reach a trade deal during the 90 days that Trump agreed to suspend U.S. tariff hikes, said a ministry spokesman, Gao Feng.
Last month, New Zealand blocked a mobile phone company from using Huawei equip- ment, saying it posed a “significant network security risk.” The company was banned in August from working on Australia’s fifth-generation network.
On Wednesday, British phone carrier BT said it was removing Huawei equipment from the core of its mobile phone networks.
The Wall Street Journal reported this year U.S. authorities are investigating whether Huawei violated sanctions on Iran. The Chinese government appealed to Washington to avoid any steps that might damage business confidence.
Huawei’s biggest Chi- nese rival, ZTE Corp., was nearly driven out of business this year when Washington barred it from buying U.S. technology over exports to North Korea and Iran. Trump restored access after ZTE agreed to pay a $1 billion fine, replace its executive team and embed a U.S.-cho- sen compliance team in the company.