China Seeks Explanation for Huawei CFO’s Arrest at US Request

Bolton refuses to give reason for arrest

Global financial markets continue to roil following the weekend arrest of Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou in Canada, an arrest that came at the request of the United States. The Chinese government is demanding some sort of explanation for the matter.

So far, they’re not getting an explanation, and neither are the public. Canada’s PM denied any “political” motivation, but no charges have been made public. The Trump Administration is being particularly unhelpful when asked on the matter.

National security adviser John Bolton confirmed he knew the arrest was going to happen, but he too ducked the question of why. Instead, he reiterated years old allegations that Huawei as a company was “stealing intellectual property.” This would not, in seems, be a pretext to arrest Meng.

Instead, there are a flurry of rumors surrounding Huawei maybe violating Iran sanctions. There is no publicly available evidence to that effect either, but some reports are tying them to previous inquiries into HSBC.

Either way, the sudden capture of a top Chinese executive and the lack of explanation is a new threat to already tense US-Chinese trade relations. Though there may be some explanation underpinning all of this, the lack of transparency is worrying many.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.