How Donald Trump could change the course of Meng Wanzhou’s ‘years-long’ battle against extradition
- Canada usually complies with extradition requests but the China-US trade war – and the US president’s apparent willingness to intervene in the case – could make the difference this time
Huawei chief financial officer Sabrina Meng Wanzhou is set for a long battle as she fights extradition from Canada to the United States, a process that could be complicated by intervention from US President Donald Trump, analysts say.
Meng made a brief appearance before the British Columbia Supreme Court in Vancouver for a bail hearing on Tuesday.
The judge, William Ehrcke, who granted her bail request last month, pushed back Meng’s next court appearance by one month, until March 6, adding that proceedings could take some time – even years.
While Canada has granted extradition in over 90 per cent of cases in the past decade, this instance is overshadowed by the China-US trade war.
American officials have denied that the charges against Meng, the daughter of Huawei’s founder, are linked to the trade war and high-stakes trade talks in Washington this week.
Chinese Vice-Premier Liu He is in the US capital to try to resolve trade tensions ahead of the end of a tariff ceasefire deadline on March 1, the same deadline Canadian Justice Minister David Lametti has to make a decision on whether to issue an authority to proceed with the US extradition request.