Online
\nOttawa
\nThe daughter of the founder of Chinese telecoms giant Huawei has been arrested in Canada and faces extradition to the United States.
\nMeng Wanzhou, Huawei\u2019s chief financial officer and deputy chair, was arrested in Vancouver on 1 December.
\nDetails of the arrest have not been released but the US has been investigating Huawei over possible violation of sanctions against Iran.
\nChina\u2019s embassy in Canada protested at the arrest and demanded her release.
\nHuawei said it had little information about the charges and was \u201cnot aware of any wrongdoing by Ms Meng\u201d.
\nThe arrest comes at a sensitive time for US-China relations. The nations are engaged in a trade war that has seen both impose duties of billions of dollars on one another\u2019s goods.
\nThe arrest will not help the 90-day tariff truce the nations agreed after President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping met at the G20.
\nIt also coincides with moves to restrict the use of Huawei technology in Western countries. The US, Australia and New Zealand have blocked the use of the Chinese firm\u2019s equipment in infrastructure for new faster 5G mobile networks.
\nThe UK has not blocked firms from using Huawei, although BT, which dominates the UK\u2019s telecoms network, said this week it would not use the Chinese firm\u2019s equipment in its \u201ccore\u201d 5G infrastructure.
\nCanada\u2019s ministry of justice confirmed the date and place of Ms Meng\u2019s arrest and added: \u201cShe is sought for extradition by the United States, and a bail hearing has been set for Friday.\u201d
\nIt said it could not say more as Ms Meng had sought a ban on the publication of details and this had been ordered by the courts.
\nA spokesman for the US justice department in the Eastern District of New York – which Huawei said had brought the charges – declined to comment.
\nUS media have reported that Huawei is under investigation for potential violations of US sanctions against Iran.
\nOne report in the New York Times said the US commerce and treasury departments had subpoenaed the firm over suspected violation of sanctions against both Iran and North Korea.
\nUS lawmakers have repeatedly accused the company of being a threat to US national security, arguing that its technology could be used for spying by the Chinese government.
\nReacting to the arrest, US Senator Ben Sasse told Associated Press that China was aggressively engaged in undermining US national security interests, often \u201cusing private sector entities\u201d.
\n\u201cAmericans are grateful that our Canadian partners have arrested the chief financial officer,\u201d he added.
\nHuawei said Ms Meng, the daughter of founder Ren Zhengfei, was detained while transferring between flights.
\nIn a statement, it said it had complied with \u201call applicable laws and regulations where it operates, including applicable export control and sanction laws and regulations of the UN, US and EU.
\n\u201cThe company believes the Canadian and US legal systems will ultimately reach a just conclusion.\u201d
\nIt said that Canada, at the request of the US, had arrested a Chinese citizen \u201cnot violating any American or Canadian law\u201d.
\n\u201cThe Chinese side has lodged stern representations with the US and Canadian side, and urged them to immediately correct the wrongdoing and restore the personal freedom of Ms Meng Wanzhou.\u201d
\nThe company is one of the largest telecommunications equipment and services providers in the world, recently passing Apple to become the second-biggest smartphone maker after Samsung.
\nSome Western governments fear Beijing will gain access to fifth-generation (5G) mobile and other communications networks through Huawei and expand its spying ability, although the firm insists there is no government control.
\nSecurity concerns recently led BT to bar Huawei equipment from the heart of the 5G network it is rolling out in the UK.
\nNew Zealand has blocked Huawei equipment over national security concerns, after Australia imposed a similar ban on both Huawei and fellow communications firm ZTE.
\nThe US has brought a number of legal cases against Chinese technology firms, with accusations such as cyber-security theft and violations of Iran sanctions.
\nEarlier this year, it barred US companies from exporting to ZTE, effectively shutting down the firm. The US later replaced the ban with a fine and governance changes.
\nThe US has also restricted US firms from selling parts to Chinese chipmaker Fujian Jinhua.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Online Ottawa The daughter of the founder of Chinese telecoms giant Huawei has been arrested in Canada and faces extradition to the United States. Meng Wanzhou, Huawei\u2019s chief financial officer and deputy chair, was arrested in Vancouver on 1 December. Details of the arrest have not been released but the US has been investigating Huawei […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-39005","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n