Wanzhou Meng was arrested in Vancouver on Canada's west coast on Saturday, December 1, Canada's Ministry of Justice told the newspaper Globe and Letters.

– He is wanted and wants to be extradited to the United States. A bail hearing will be held on Friday, but due to restrictions on publishing details, I cannot say much more at this time, said spokesman Ian McLeod.

According to the newspaper, he was arrested at the request of American authorities.

Huawei said it was unaware that Meng had done anything wrong and had received little information about the case.

– He was arrested while on a layover, and faces unspecified charges in New York. Huawei is confident that courts in Canada and the United States will ultimately make the right decision, the company wrote in a statement.

The company further states that it complies with all applicable laws where it operates, including export controls and sanctions and regulations from the UN, US and EU.

– Does not violate the law

The Wall Street Journal wrote in April that US authorities were investigating whether Huawei had violated sanctions against Iran by reselling equipment from US IT company Hewlett-Packard. The US Department of Justice declined to comment on the arrest.

In contrast, China reacted strongly and said it “strongly opposes and strongly rejects” the arrest

– Meng did not violate American or Canadian law, said a statement from the countries' embassies in Canada. China has delivered a sharp message to the US and Canada and “asked them to immediately correct the mistakes made and restore Meng's personal freedom”.

The embassy said it would monitor the case closely and do what it could to “protect the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese citizens.”

Key person

Meng's role at Huawei is not limited to being the company's CFO. She is also vice chairman of the board and daughter of founder Ren Zhengfei. The company has quickly become one of the world's largest smartphone manufacturers and is one of the largest companies in China.

A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson previously said that his country does not accept other countries implementing sanctions unilaterally based on their own laws.

According to former Canadian ambassador to China, David Mulrony, the arrest would have major consequences.

Belongs to the Chinese elite

– This is a very big problem. Mrs. Meng comes from a family and is part of China's leading business elite, he said.

In China, he believes the arrests are seen as Canada not daring to stand up to President Donald Trump. But it should be seen as a clear signal that Canada is willing to meet China's wrath by “doing the right thing,” Mulrony said.

He predicted that the arrest would make it difficult for Huawei to further establish itself in a number of Western countries. Both the US and Australia have banned Huawei's 5G networks, and an operator in New Zealand recently refused to install Chinese 5G equipment on its network. The reason is that the equipment poses significant security risks.

US Senator Marco Rubio praised Canadian authorities for the arrest, and urged Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to ban Huawei from 5G networks in Canada.