China calls on U.S. to end detention of Huawei executive

Beijing summons American envoy to protest the arrest order for CFO

BEIJING — China summoned the U.S. ambassador to Beijing on Sunday to protest the detention of a senior executive of Chinese electronics giant Huawei in Canada at Washington’s behest and demanded the U.S. cancel an order for her arrest.

The official Xinhua News Agency said Vice Foreign Minister Le Yucheng “lodged solemn representations and strong protests” with Ambassador Terry Branstad against the detention of Huawei’s chief financial officer, Meng Wanzhou. Meng, suspected of trying to evade U.S. trade curbs on Iran, was detained on Dec. 1 while changing planes in Vancouver, Canada.

The Xinhua report quoted Le as calling Meng’s detention “extremely egregious” and demanded the U.S. vacate an order for her arrest. It quoted Le as calling for the U.S. to “immediately correct its wrong actions” and said it would take further steps based on Washington’s response.

Huawei, the biggest global supplier of network gear for phone and internet companies, has been the target of deepening U.S. security concerns over its ties to the Chinese government. The U.S. has pressured European countries and other allies to limit use of its technology, warning they could be opening themselves up to surveillance and theft of information.

Meng’s arrest has threatened to increase U.S.-China trade tensions and shook stock markets globally last week. But U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer downplayed the impact of the arrest on trade talks between the two countries.

“It’s my view that it shouldn’t really have much of an impact,” he said.

Meng, the daughter of Huawei’s founder, was detained on the same day that President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, agreed to a 90-day ceasefire in the trade dispute.

The surprise arrest raises doubts about whether the world’s two biggest economies can resolve the issues that divide them.

The U.S. alleges that Huawei used a Hong Kong shell company to sell equipment in Iran in violation of U.S. sanctions. It also says that Meng and Huawei misled American banks about its business dealings in Iran.