China 'outrage' following Canadian arrest of Huawei CFO - Bloomberg
As reported by Bloomberg, tensions are back on the rise between the US and China following the Canadian arrest of Huawei's global CFO, who is set to be extradited to the US to face charges of violating Iran sanctions. China's response has been one of anger, claiming that its citizen's free rights are being violated.
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News of Meng’s arrest provoked strong protest from the Chinese embassy in Canada, which called it a violation of its citizens’ rights while demanding the U.S. and its neighbor “rectify wrongdoings” and free Meng. Her arrest is sure to heighten tensions between Washington and Beijing days after the world’s two largest economies agreed on a truce in their growing trade conflict. Meng’s father Ren Zhengfei, a former army engineer who’s regularly named among China’s top business executives, has won acclaim at home for toppling Apple Inc. in smartphones and turning an electronics reseller into a producer of networking gear with revenue surpassing Boeing Co.
The CFO’s arrest -- the same day Donald Trump and Xi Jinping dined in Buenos Aires --- is likely to be regarded back home as an attack on one of China’s foremost corporate champions. While Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and Tencent Holdings Ltd. dominate headlines thanks to flashy growth and high-profile billionaire founders, Ren’s company is by far China’s most global technology company, with operations spanning Africa, Europe and Asia. U.S. equity futures and Asian stocks slid as Meng’s arrest re-ignited concerns about U.S.-Chinese tensions.
In targeting Huawei, the U.S. is threatening one of the companies at the heart of Xi’s long-term campaign to wrest the lead in future technologies and wean China off a reliance on foreign technology.