US may use arrest of Huawei CFO Sabrina Meng Wanzhou to push China during Donald Trump and Xi Jinping’s trade war truce
- Analyst sees detention of executive as calculated act by Washington to improve its hand in negotiations
- The analyst says there could be more such cases during the 90-day trade war truce
The arrest of Huawei’s chief financial officer Sabrina Meng Wanzhou will add to uncertainties in trade negotiations between China and the United States, and Washington may use the case to pressure Beijing, analysts say.
Meng, who is also the daughter of the Chinese telecom equipment giant’s founder, Ren Zhengfei, was detained by Canadian authorities at the request of the United States government on Saturday.
No other details have been given, but The Globe and Mail reported that she was detained for attempting to evade US sanctions on Iran, citing a Canadian source with knowledge of the matter.
The arrest coincided with a highly anticipated meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump in Buenos Aires that resulted in a 90-day trade war truce to allow for further talks to address Washington’s concerns.
If there is no deal at the end of that period, the US will increase tariffs on US$200 billion of Chinese goods from 10 per cent to 25 per cent.
Liu Weidong, a China-US affairs expert from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said Meng’s arrest was a calculated act by Washington aimed at improving its hand in trade negotiations with Beijing.