On Friday, Canada’s justice department decided to allow extradition proceedings against Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou. That decision ushers in the next chapter of tensions between the U.S. and China.
Huawei is a Chinese company with strong state ties. That should have been obvious after Beijing responded to Meng’s arrest by arresting two Canadians and upping the sentence of another to death in retaliation. China’s state-run media has also worked overtime burnishing the company’s image, such as by sharing this ridiculous song praising Huawei.
How Chinese residents show their support to #Huawei? Singing! A video “Huawei Beauty” which features children singing lyrics supporting Huawei went viral. Lyrics include “we love our country, we love homegrown brand Huawei” and “China’s homegrown chips are the most valuable one.” pic.twitter.com/kx5sUGV5Qs
— Global Times (@globaltimesnews) February 27, 2019
That means that although the case is ostensibly about alleged Iran sanctions violations and fraud, a decision to extradite Meng would be seen as a clear rebuke of the Chinese government. That diplomatic tangle is one that Canada, or at least its since-dismissed ambassador to China, would be happy to wash its hands of.
A statement from Meng’s defense team suggests that part of their case against extradition will focus on the politicization of the case in the U.S., including statements by President Trump. And Trump did err in his statements when he said that he “would certainly intervene” if he “thought it was necessary” to reach a trade deal. That implied that he could personally intervene in the case for political reasons. Those remarks run contrary to any understanding of a fair trial or justice and contradict the very idea of rule of law itself. They also mean that the hearings will have to include scrutiny of the U.S. justice system and Trump’s penchant for championing illegal action.
The U.S. has been making the case to allies that basing telecommunications networks on Huawei’s 5G technology is akin to handing the Chinese Communist Party keys to their telecommunication networks. There does seem to be some credibility to that claim, as a separate case in Poland against a Huawei employee strongly suggests.
U.S. actions against Huawei are undeniably bad for the company and a blow to China’s interest in tapping new markets for domestic technology. That has left Beijing determined to pitch U.S. actions against Huawei as stifling China’s rise and an example fearing competition.
That leaves Canada with quite a mess to sort out. For Prime Minster Justin Trudeau’s government, already facing its own domestic problems for alleged manipulation of the judicial system, it’s not a welcome challenge.
