China demanded the release of the chief financial officer of Huawei Technologies, warning Canada there will be “severe consequences” if Wanzhou Meng is not released, according to reports.
The arrest in early December came at the behest of the United States, which is investigating whether the consumer electronics and telecommunications company violated sanctions against Iran. U.S. officials sought her extradition.
According to a statement from China’s foreign ministry reported by the Independent, vice foreign minister Le Yucheng had summoned Canada’s ambassador in Beijing to lodge a protest about what he termed Meng’s “extremely nasty” arrest.
“China strongly urges the Canadian side to immediately release the detained person, and earnestly protect their lawful, legitimate rights, otherwise Canada must accept full responsibility for the serious consequences caused,” the statement said.
The arrest of the executive, the daughter of the company’s billionaire founder Ren Zhengfei, comes amid tense trade talks between the U.S. and China. The two nations agreed to a temporary cease-fire in the trade war earlier this month during a dinner between President Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping at the G-20 summit in Buenos Aires.
U.S. officials have claimed that Huawei and Chinese telecom firm ZTE Inc. help Chinese spying efforts in the U.S. Following the arrest, AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson called for U.S. allies to ban the use of technology from Huawei. The U.S. already bans sales of devices from the two companies on military bases.
