Huawei CFO arrested in Canada: Canada’s Justice Dept – Reuters
What happened: Meng Wanzhou, Huawei CFO and daughter of the company’s founder, was arrested in Vancouver on December 1, Canada’s Department of Justice revealed Wednesday. She faces extradition to the US. An unnamed source said the arrest was related to accusations that Huawei violated US sanctions against Iran, although this couldn’t be confirmed. Huawei said it was not informed of the charges or “of any wrongdoing by Ms. Meng,” while the Chinese embassy in Canada called for her release. Meng’s court hearing is set for this Friday.
Why it’s important: US accusations that Huawei bypassed its sanctions against Iran and other countries have come up against the Chinese company’s firm denials. That didn’t stop one American senator from declaring that Meng’s arrest was “for breaking US sanctions against Iran,” however. Stock futures in the US and Asia have dropped over the uncertainty of the case, which once again highlights Sino-American tensions. The arrest comes less than a week after Xi Jinping and Donald Trump decided on a temporary ceasefire in the US-China trade war. In another conciliatory gesture, Xi also said he’d reconsider approving US chip-maker Qualcomm’s $44 billion bid for NXP, which had previously failed.