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Explainer | Huawei’s CFO Sabrina Meng Wanzhou has been arrested in Canada, but who is she – and why the big deal?
- Meng is the daughter of Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei – one of China’s leading businessmen, an ex-PLA officer and an elected member of the 12th NCCP
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Celia Chenin Shenzhen
Chinese telecom equipment giant Huawei’s Chief Financial Officer Sabrina Meng Wanzhou has been detained by Canadian authorities at the request of the US government, a move that sparked a protest from the Chinese government.
But who is Sabrina Meng Wanzhou and why is this such a big deal?
Meng is the 46-year old CFO of Shenzhen-based Huawei, which is currently stuck in the middle of the trade and technology spat between the US and China. US president Donald Trump in August authorised a ban on the company’s hardware in US government networks, citing national security concerns – particularly in relation to the rollout of 5G networks.
Huawei, the world’s biggest maker of telecoms network equipment, has said that the concerns were unwarranted.
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Perhaps more importantly than this though, Meng is also the daughter of Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei – one of China’s leading businessmen, an ex-People’s Liberation Army officer and an elected member of the 12th National Congress of the Communist Party of China.
In other words, Meng is part of China's elite.
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