Huawei CFO Meng gets bail in a case rattling China-Canada ties

Vancouver, December 12 

A Canadian court has granted bail to a top Chinese telecom company executive wanted in the United States, as diplomatic tensions turned to the detention of a former Canadian diplomat in Beijing.

Meng Wanzhou, the chief financial officer of Huawei, was released on $7.5 million bail on Tuesday in a case that has rattled relations between China, the US and Canada.

Meng, who faces a US extradition bid on charges related to alleged violations of Iran sanctions, was also ordered to surrender her passport and will be subjected to electronic monitoring. “The risk of (Meng’s) non-attendance in court can be reduced to an acceptable level by imposing the bail conditions proposed by her counsel,” a judge in Vancouver said, prompting the courtroom packed with her supporters to erupt in cheers. Meng will be allowed to stay at a luxury home owned by her husband, Liu Xiaozong, in Vancouver.

Her December 1 arrest in Vancouver has shaken China’s relations with Canada and the US, and raised concerns that it could derail a US-China trade war truce.

US officials have said the arrest was unrelated to the trade talks, but President Donald Trump told Reuters he “would certainly intervene” in the case if it can help strike a deal with China. — AFP