SANCTIONS

Huawei Technologies’ Meng Wanzhou Arrest Is 'Nasty,' Chinese Official Says

She was arrested in Vancouver.

A Chinese official demanded Sunday that U.S. drop its arrest warrant of Huawei Technologies’ chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou calling her detention an “extremely nasty” violation of her rights, Reuters reports. Meng was detained in Canada on Dec. 1 at the request of U.S. officials. They want to extradite Meng, claiming she hid Huawei’s links to a company that tried selling products to Iran in violation of sanctions. Chinese vice-foreign minister Le Yucheng told U.S. Ambassador to China Terry Branstad that it was an “unreasonable demand” for Canada to hold Meng. “The actions of the U.S. seriously violated the lawful and legitimate rights of the Chinese citizen, and by their nature were extremely nasty,” Le said, echoing comments he had made to Canadian officials. China wants the U.S. to withdraw Meng’s arrest warrant, Le also said. “China will respond further depending on US actions,” Le said. The minister also warned Canada’s ambassador to China of serious consequences should they not free Meng. U.S. officials reportedly told allies several weeks ago not to use Huawei’s equipment because of cybersecurity concerns.

BUYING POWER

Meet the U.S. Officials Now in China’s Sphere of Influence

Bethany Allen-Ebrahimian