The arrest in Canada of Meng Wanzhou, a top executive at China’s Huawei Technologies Co Ltd and daughter of the founder and CEO, jolted the global business community on Thursday and raised fears that a truce in the U. S.-China trade war could come to a swift end.
(Reuters) – The arrest in Canada of Meng Wanzhou, a top executive at China’s Huawei Technologies Co Ltd and daughter of the founder and CEO, jolted the global business community on Thursday and raised fears that a truce in the U. S.-China trade war could come to a swift end.
Meng’s arrest came at the behest of U. S. authorities and is connected to an investigation into alleged violations of U. S. trade sanctions, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters. China’s foreign ministry said neither the United States nor Canada have explained reasons for the arrest.
What is Huawei?
Huawei is the world’s largest supplier of telecommunications network equipment and second-biggest maker of smartphones, with revenue of about $92 billion last year. Unlike other big Chinese technology firms, it does much of its business overseas and is a market leader in many countries across Europe, Asia and Africa.
The company was founded in 1987 by former military officer Ren Zhengfei. It remains privately held and describes itself as employee-owned, though its ownership structure is unknown. It is based in the southern Chinese tech hub of Shenzhen and employs about 180,000 people.
How did the company become so successful?
Huawei was a pioneering supplier of telecom gear at a time when China was spending heavily to upgrade its networks, importing much of its equipment. Huawei began competing internationally in the 1990s and was known for drastically undercutting rivals on price.
Competitors branded Huawei a cut-rate vendor of copycat equipment, and companies including Cisco Systems ( CSCO. O) and Motorola filed lawsuits over alleged trade secret theft.
