Detained Huawei boss due in court amid deal reports

A Chinese technology executive held in Canada on US fraud charges could be freed as early as Friday after the US government said it would submit a “resolution” to the case against her.

Meng Wanzhou, chief financial officer of Huawei, was detained in December 2018 at the request of the US.

She is expected to make a virtual appearance in a US court shortly.

The case sparked an international row, straining China’s relations with the US and Canada.

It has been the subject of intense negotiations between US and Chinese diplomats.

On Friday the US Department of Justice said it would submit, along with lawyers for Ms Meng, a “resolution” to the case.

If the charges against her are dropped, her extradition case in Canada will be thrown out and she could be freed almost immediately.

The US alleges Ms Meng misled the bank HSBC over the true nature of Huawei’s relationship with a company called Skycom, putting the bank at risk of violating US sanctions against Iran.

She is the elder daughter of billionaire Ren Zhengfei, who set up Huawei in 1987, building it up to become one of the biggest technology firms in the world.

He served in the Chinese army for nine years, until 1983, and is also a member of the Chinese Communist Party.

Huawei has faced accusations that the Chinese authorities could use its equipment for espionage – allegations it denies.

In 2019, the US imposed sanctions on Huawei and placed it on an export blacklist, cutting it off from key technologies.

The UK, Sweden, Australia, Japan have also banned Huawei, while other countries including France and India have adopted measures stopping short of an outright ban.

A few days after Ms Meng was arrested, China detained two Canadian citizens, Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig, on suspicion of spying.

Critics have accused China of treating them as political bargaining chips, held as part of what is known as “hostage diplomacy”. China denies this. (BBC)