China Briefing | Meng Wanzhou arrest: what if China went after US executives?
- Isn’t it ironic: the US accuses China of undermining international norms, yet appears to be okay with arresting the Huawei executive without producing a shred of evidence beforehand and using her as leverage in trade war negotiations
The deal, however vague, is worth celebrating and a win-win for the world’s two largest economies – the two countries now have 90 days to work out their differences and find more permanent solutions.
From a geopolitical perspective, the truce helps prevent the two from sliding further towards a new cold war of sorts.
This has prompted some optimists to express hope it could mark the start of renewed efforts by both countries to return to their old paradigm of seeking cooperation over confrontation.
The timing of her arrest is more than an insulting poke in the eye for the Chinese government, particularly after US national security adviser John Bolton confirmed on Thursday that he was aware of the plan to arrest Meng going into the December 1 meeting between Xi and Trump. In the same interview, he also said Huawei, and other Chinese tech giants, would be a “major subject” of discussion between US and Chinese trade negotiators because of their alleged practices of using stolen US technology.