Asia

China Urges US to Cancel Extradition Request of Huawei CFO From Canada

BEIJING (Sputnik) - Beijing is urging the United States to immediately withdraw an arrest warrant for Huawei Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou and avoid requesting her extradition from Canada, Geng Shuang, a spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday.
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Acting US Attorney General Matthew Whitaker said on Monday that the Justice Department had unsealed two indictments with a total of 23 charges against Huawei, its subsidiaries and Meng Wanzhou for conspiring to steal trade secrets and sanctions violations.

"We again urge the US side to withdraw the arrest warrant for Mrs Meng and not to send an extradition request in order to avoid going further down this erroneous path", Geng said.

The spokesman added that the United States and Canada have abused a bilateral extradition treaty and used unreasonable preventive measures against a Chinese citizen, which is a gross violation of her legal rights.

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"For some time, the US side has been using state resources to blacken and attack Chinese companies, trying to strangle the legal business of companies. There are strong political motives behind these actions", the spokesman noted.

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The Chinese Foreign Ministry also urged Washington to "stop undue pressure on Chinese companies in the United States, including Huawei, and treat them objectively".

Huawei has recently faced allegations that it is linked to the Chinese government and has been spying on its behalf, something that the company has vehemently denied. Last year, Australia, Japan, New Zealand, and the United States banned the Chinese telecommunications giant from participating in government contracts.

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Meng Wanzhou was arrested in the Canadian city of Vancouver on 1 December 2018, reportedly, for failing to comply with the US sanctions against Iran, and now faces extradition to the United States. The arrest was decried by Beijing, which has urged the Canadian authorities to immediately release the Chinese national.

Just a few days after Meng's arrest, the Chinese authorities detained former Canadian diplomat Michael Kovrig and businessman Michael Spavor for allegedly posing a threat to the country's security. Beijing denied, however, that the detention had anything to do with Meng's case.

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