Compares arrest to kidnapping<\/b>
\nChina\u2019s state-run newspaper claims the arrest of a Chinese CFO in Canada, at the request of U. S. authorities, is \u201cbasically a kidnapping\u201d and even a declaration of war.
Meng Wanzhou\u2019s Saturday arrest was reportedly at the behest of the United States over federal charges of violating Iran sanctions and she could even be extradited to New York to face those charges.
\u201cWithout any solid evidence, the Canadian and U. S. governments trampled on international law by basically \u2018kidnapping\u2019 Chinese citizen Meng Wanzhou, the chief financial officer of Huawei,\u201d said the Global Times . \u201cThe China-U. S. trade row could become a protracted war.\u201d
Meng is the CFO of Huawei, one of the largest mobile phone makers in the world.
Consequently, China\u2019s embassy in Canada released a statement strongly protesting Meng\u2019s arrest.
\u201cThe Chinese side firmly opposes and strongly protests over such kind of actions which seriously harmed the human rights of the victim. The Chinese side has lodged stern representations with the U. S. and Canadian side, and urged them to immediately correct the wrongdoing and restore the personal freedom of Ms. Meng Wanzhou.\u201d
Correspondingly, Huawei Technologies also released a statement on Twitter saying it \u201cis not aware of any wrongdoing by Ms. Meng.\u201d
The Trump administration has yet to comment on the arrest.
\u201cI\u2019m shocked there\u2019s been no word from the administration,\u201d said a chief investment strategist of an advisory group. \u201cImagine if the CFO of Apple was arrested by the Chinese in some foreign country, and the CFO happened to be the son of Steve Jobs.\u201d
\u201cThis is not some low-level person.\u201d
Currently, multiple experts are warning American tech executives to avoid traveling to China.
\u201cIf I were a high-level exec at Google or Cisco I wouldn\u2019t visit China anytime soon,\u201d said Shaun Rein, founder of the China Market Research Group.<\/p>\n