Bushfire warnings


News Home

Huawei's chief financial officer arrested in Canada for violating US sanctions on Iran: reports


The Chinese Foreign Ministry says Beijing wants answers from the US and Canada

ABC News

China is demanding the immediate release of Huawei's global chief financial officer, who was arrested in Canada and is facing extradition to the United States amid reports she violated US sanctions against Iran.

Canada has arrested Huawei's global chief financial officer in Vancouver, where she is facing extradition to the United States on suspicion she violated US sanctions against Iran, Canadian officials and reports say.

Meng Wanzhou, who is one of the vice chairs on the Chinese technology company's board and the daughter of company founder Ren Zhengfei, was arrested on December 1 when she was transferring flights.

A court hearing has been set for Friday, a Canadian Justice Department spokesman, Ian McLeod, said.


A US Justice Department spokesman declined to comment.

China's embassy in Canada said it resolutely opposed the arrest and made representations to Canada and the US, demanding her immediate release.

"The Canadian police, at the request of the United States, arrested a Chinese citizen who had not violated any US or Canadian law," the embassy said in a short statement on its website.

"China has already made solemn representations to the United States and Canada, demanding they immediately correct their wrong behaviour and restore Ms Meng Wanzhou's freedom."

Ms Meng's arrest could drive a wedge between China and the United States just days after President Donald Trump and President Xi Jinping held a meeting in Argentina where they agreed to a 90-day truce to their trade war.

Huawei, one of the world's largest makers of telecommunications network equipment, said it complies with all laws and rules where it operates, including export controls and sanctions of the United Nations, the US and European Union.

Huawei also said it had been provided little information of the charges against Ms Meng, adding it was, "not aware of any wrongdoing by Ms Meng".

A crisis in relations

Though Mr Trump and Mr Xi agreed to take steps toward ending their trade war, a resolution is now in doubt.

David Mulroney, a former Canadian ambassador to China, said US and Canadian business executives could also face reprisals in China.

"That's something we should be watching out for. It's a possibility. China's plays rough," Mr Mulroney said.


Mr Mulroney said Canada should be prepared for "sustained fury" from the Chinese and said it would be portrayed in China as Canada kowtowing to Mr Trump.

He also said the Iran allegations were very damaging to Huawei and said China would push back hard.

Wenran Jiang, a senior fellow at the Institute of Asian Research at the University of British Columbia, noted the arrest took place on the same day Mr Trump met with Mr Xi to discuss the trade war after the close of the G20 summit in Argentina.

"She was in transit though Vancouver.

"That means the intelligence agencies in Canada and the US were tracking her and planning to arrest her for some time," he said.

"The Chinese will read this as a planned conspiracy to do damage."

He predicted a crisis in relations between the three countries if she was extradited and said any talk of free trade agreement between Canada and China would be over.


Amid escalating technology tensions, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said at the time that China opposed any country imposing unilateral sanctions based on its own law.

"We hope the US will refrain from taking actions that could further undermine investor confidence in the US business environment and harm its domestic economy and normal, open, transparent and win-win international trade," Ms Hua said in April.

That same month, Washington barred Huawei rival ZTE from exporting US technology in a separate case over exports to Iran and North Korea.


More Stories