Chinese Foreign Ministry Says Huawei CFO Meng Innocent, Calls on Canada for Her Release

BEIJING (Sputnik) - Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Hua Chunying said on Friday that Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou had not committed any crimes as the United States and Canada have claimed and urged Ottawa to immediately release her and allow her to return to her home country.

According to Hua Chunying, Meng's case was based on the political goal of the United States to suppress the development of Chinese technology enterprises, and Canada has played a rather shameful role on the issue.

"China's position on this issue is clear — Mrs Meng is innocent and has not committed any crimes the US and Canada claimed she has", the spokesperson said at a briefing.

On Thursday, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing sources familiar with the situation that US Justice Department officials and Meng were negotiating a possible plea deal that would allow her to return to China from Canada. According to the media outlet, in exchange for going home, Meng would have to admit to alleged violations of US sanctions on Iran on Huawei's behalf. She faces wire and bank fraud charges.

Meng Wanzhou, Chief Executive Officer, Huawei Technologies, attending the 6th Annual VTB Capital Investment Forum "Russia Calling" at the World Trade Center, October 2, 2014

© Sputnik / Alexei Druzhinin

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Meng, the daughter of Huawei founder and CEO Ren Zhengfei, was arrested on 1 December, 2018 at Vancouver International Airport during a layover stop at the request of the US government.

Meng is wanted by US authorities for her alleged role in violating sanctions against Iran. The US Justice Department alleges that Meng committed financial transgressions by misleading multinational financial conglomerate, HSBC, into approving more than $100 million in transactions that contravened US sanctions on Iran from 2010 to 2014.