• MILITARY: Brazil-France submarine programme (Graphic DUE Mar 28, 15:00GMT)
  • SPACE: Calls for protected moon sites (Graphic DUE Mar 28, 16:00GMT)
  • ACCIDENT: Why did Baltimore bridge collapse? (Graphic DUE Mar 28, 17:30GMT)
  • For full details of graphics available/in preparation, see Menu -> Planners
Graphic shows key events in the rise of China tech giant Huawei Technologies.
GN38605EN

BUSINESS

Arrest of China exec fuels trade war

By Duncan Mil

December 10, 2018 - The arrest of Huawei’s Meng Wanzhou has plunged the world’s biggest supplier of telecoms equipment and second biggest smartphone seller into the trade war between Washington and Beijing.

Huawei’s rise to global dominance has presented the Chinese company with many challenges -- including persuading consumers to pronounce its name “wah-way”, not “who-are-we.” Now the arrest in Canada of Meng Wanzhou, the company’s chief financial officer, is seen by many in China as a personal attack on Ren Zhengfei, the company’s founder and Ms Meng’s father.

If she is extradited to the United States, the charges Meng faces includes allegations that Huawei used the Tehran office of Skycom Tech Co. Ltd. to provide embargoed mobile network equipment to Iranian telecommunications companies.

U.S. officials allege that Meng misled multinational banks about Huawei’s control of Skycom, clearing more than $100 million worth of transactions through the U.S. between 2010 and 2014.

While the basis for the arrest is national security, it could give the Trump administration an upper hand in trade talks with China. A U.S. ban on Huawei would cut off access to hardware and critical software -- Android from Google and Qualcomm’s patents in radio access technology -- needed for next year’s rollout of revolutionary 5G.

President Trump could use the threat of a ban to force China to make significant trade concessions.

Sources
PUBLISHED: 10/12/2018; STORY: Graphic News; PICTURES: Associated Press
Advertisement