China has demanded the immediate release of a senior Huawei telecoms executive whose arrest is threatening to escalate into a major diplomatic incident.
Beijing is calling for both Ottawa and Washington to clarify their reasons for the detention of Meng Wanzhou, the Chinese company’s global chief financial officer, who was arrested in Vancouver on Saturday and faces extradition to the US.
Canada confirmed her detention on Wednesday night.
A Chinese foreign ministry spokesman said on Thursday that Beijing had separately called on the US and Canada to “clarify the reasons for the detention” immediately and “immediately release the detained person”.
The controversy threatens to drive a further wedge between the US and China.
The spokesman said China had been providing consular assistance to Meng since learning of her arrest.
Meng is one of the vice-chairs on the Chinese technology company’s board and is the daughter of the company’s founder, Ren Zhengfei. Her arrest is reportedly related to alleged violations of US sanctions. A court hearing has been set for Friday, according to Canada’s department of justice.
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