China repeats call for Canada to release Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou
China called again on Canada today to release detained Huawei finance chief Meng Wanzhou as soon as possible ahead of an extradition hearing.
Foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said Canada should correct its “mistake” in arresting the executive, who is the daughter of Huawei chief executive Ren Zhengfei.
“The resolve of the Chinese government to protect Chinese citizens’ proper legal rights is firm and unwavering,” Geng told reporters during a daily briefing, adding that Meng’s case was a “serious political matter”.
This week Wanzhou will face a Canadian court for a hearing – a huge step towards determining whether she will be extradited to the US.
Wanzhou was arrested in late 2018 at the request of the US government. She is charged with bank fraud and accused of misleading HSBC about Huawei’s business in Iran. Meng has denied the charges.
The arrest has strained relations between the US, Canada and China and has come at a difficult period for Huawei.
The US placed it on a trade blacklist last year that banned firms from selling to the Chinese technology giant without a licence. It has also urged allies to block Huawei’s products from their 5G networks.
Last week, Conservative MP Tom Tugendhat warned Boris Johnson not to “let the fox into the hen house” by allowing Huawei to build the UK’s 5G network.