Meng Wanzhou Cfo Huawei (Ansa / Maxim Shipenkov)

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06 December 2018 At the request of the United States, which asked for his extradition for suspected violations of sanctions against Iran, the Canadian authorities arrested Huawei's chief financial officer in Vancouver, Meng Wanzhou, who also holds the role of deputy chairman of the Shenzhen group board.

The arrest of Meng, who is also the daughter of the group's founder, Ren Zhengfei, former engineer of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, was confirmed to the Canadian newspaper The Globe and Mail by the Canadian Ministry of Justice spokesman, Ian McLeod. It dates back to December 1, the same day that the Chinese President, Xi Jinping, and the President of the United States, Donald Trump, met on the sidelines of the G20 in Buenos Aires to reach a truce on trade tensions that divide China and States US.

Meng is now awaiting the hearing, scheduled for tomorrow. The arrest is already a diplomatic case and the fear that the attempts of détente between the US and China will wreck has sank the markets .

The Chinese embassy in Ottawa filed a formal protest against Canada and the United States, and stressed that Meng "has not violated US or Canadian laws." These types of actions, the statement continues, "seriously damage the human rights of the victim" and therefore the Chinese embassy asks the USA and Canada to "correct" the error immediately and to set the Huawei CFO free.

In a tangible sign of Chinese irritation, Ambassador Lu Shauye canceled his hearing today at the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee, one of the branches of Parliament in Ottawa, at the last minute and without explanation.

The Chinese telecommunications giant in a note in moderate tones speaks of "unspecified accusations" against its manager, and says he is "unaware of any wrongdoing committed by Ms. Meng", trusting that "the legal systems of Canada and the United States will reach a fair conclusion "on the case. Last April, the Wall Street Journal had anticipated that the group was under observation by the American Department of Justice for possible violation of sanctions against Iran.

The news of Meng's arrest welcomed the return to China from a long tour of President Xi Jinping, who arrived in Beijing late in the morning today: just yesterday, in Lisbon, Xi had attended the signing of 17 bilateral cooperation agreements between China and Portugal, including one relating to the development of 5G networks in the country, in cooperation between Huawei and the multinational Altice.

The most powerful Chinese woman in the tech sector
In the western world they know her as 'Sabrina' or 'Cathy', in China as the 'Huawei Princess', Meng Wanzhou is considered the most powerful woman in the Chinese technology sector. Forty-six years old, graduated from the Huazhong University of Science and Technology, she is the first daughter of the former deputy director of the Chinese military genius who, in the second part of her life, decides to found Huawei, creating a global telecommunications giant that now holds the second largest slice of the world smartphone market. A life shrouded in privacy; for over 20 years he has worked in Huawei, Sabrina or Cathy would have all the numbers to succeed his father who however often said that none of the children would be able to take his place. Joined Huawei at the age of 21 (in 1993), Wanzhou was promoted to Huawei's chief financial officer in 2018. As a tradition of Chinese elites, she uses her mother's surname, Meng Jun, as well as her brother Meng Ping. A different surname also for the half-sister, Annabel Yao, 21 years old, a Harvard student in recent days among the participants of the Paris debutante ball.

Lagarde: Respect Justice
Christine Lagarde, the director general of the International Monetary Fund, does not want to "put the Huawei case and the" determination "of the presidents of the United States and China to resolve their commercial disputes in the same bin. After confirming the arrest of the financial director of the Chinese giant, Lagarde wanted to underline what was observed in the context of the G20 last Friday and Saturday in Buenos Aires. "I was not at the dinner" between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping, in which a 90-day commercial truce was decided, "but at the summit I saw them act. There is a desire to work together, move forward, resolve issues. This was very clear". Too bad that the arrest of Meng Wanzhou have rekindled fears about the holding of that truce, as demonstrated by the collapse of the indices on Wall Street.

Regarding Meng, whose US wants extradition from Canada for alleged violation of sanctions related to Iran, Lagarde said: "If an individual violates laws ... fortunately there is a judicial system, which must be respected ". It is precisely in Justice that Huawei trusts: "The Canadian and American legal systems will eventually reach a fair conclusion", the group commented yesterday, claiming to have respected the laws, including "those relating to UN, US and EU sanctions" and not to be aware of mistakes made by the top manager.