By Edward Wong, Katie Benner and Alan Rappeport
Meng Wanzhou, the chief financial officer of Huawei, arriving last month at a parole office in Vancouver. American officials are expected to ask Canada within a week to extradite Meng to the United States to face charges related to violating Iran sanctions.
WASHINGTON — The United States plans to formally request within a week that Canada extradite a top Huawei executive to stand trial for charges related to violating American sanctions on Iran.
American officials say they will seek to have Meng Wanzhou, the chief financial officer of the Chinese telecom firm Huawei who was detained in Canada on Dec. 1, sent to the United States.
They have until Jan. 30 to make the request.
“We will continue to pursue the extradition of defendant Meng Wanzhou, and will meet all deadlines set by the U.S.-Canada Extradition Treaty,” Marc Raimondi, a Justice Department spokesman, said in a statement.
“We will continue to pursue the extradition of defendant Meng Wanzhou, and will meet all deadlines set by the U.S.-Canada Extradition Treaty,” Marc Raimondi, a Justice Department spokesman, said in a statement.
“We greatly appreciate Canada’s continuing support in our mutual efforts to enforce the rule of law.”
The United States’ request would come as American and Chinese officials kick off a critical round of trade talks next week aimed at resolving a dispute that is causing great economic damage in China.
The United States’ request would come as American and Chinese officials kick off a critical round of trade talks next week aimed at resolving a dispute that is causing great economic damage in China.
The talks are expected to begin Jan. 30 in Washington, when a delegation led by Liu He, China’s top trade negotiator, meets with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Robert Lighthizer, the United States trade representative.
American and Chinese officials have tried to portray the arrest of Meng as separate from the trade talks, which are taking place against a March 2 deadline set by President Trump and Xi Jinping.
But the Trump administration has increasingly mixed talk of national security concerns related to Chinese businesses with its positions on trade.
American and Chinese officials have tried to portray the arrest of Meng as separate from the trade talks, which are taking place against a March 2 deadline set by President Trump and Xi Jinping.
But the Trump administration has increasingly mixed talk of national security concerns related to Chinese businesses with its positions on trade.
And American officials have tried to crack down on certain activities by Chinese telecom firms like Huawei, which is aiming to build next-generation cellular and data networks in countries worldwide.
China has already expressed alarm about the detention of Meng, a Chinese citizen and a daughter of the founder of Huawei, whose arrest set off a diplomatic crisis involving the United States, Canada and China.
China has already expressed alarm about the detention of Meng, a Chinese citizen and a daughter of the founder of Huawei, whose arrest set off a diplomatic crisis involving the United States, Canada and China.
Meng is currently living with her family at one of her homes in Vancouver.
In December, a Canadian court ruled that Meng would not have to be held in jail, but said that the authorities could closely monitor her, and that certain parts of Vancouver were off limits.
A senior official with Global Affairs, the Canadian Foreign Ministry, said the Canadian government expects the United States to proceed with the request to have her brought to the United States to face charges that she lied to American banks about Huawei’s efforts to evade Iran sanctions.
A senior official with Global Affairs, the Canadian Foreign Ministry, said the Canadian government expects the United States to proceed with the request to have her brought to the United States to face charges that she lied to American banks about Huawei’s efforts to evade Iran sanctions.
Meng was arrested Dec. 1 in a Vancouver airport as she was stopping over between China and Latin America, and the treaty says the United States must make a formal extradition request within 60 days of an arrest.
Once Canada gets the request, the process would move to the Canadian courts, which would determine whether Meng could be extradited.
Once Canada gets the request, the process would move to the Canadian courts, which would determine whether Meng could be extradited.
If they say yes, the minister of justice makes the final determination.
The Canadian official said the process could take months or years because the first decision by a court can be appealed to a higher court.
A spokesman for Canada’s Justice Department said Tuesday night that the British Columbia Supreme Court had scheduled a hearing for Feb. 6 to confirm that the United States had made a formal extradition request by the deadline.
The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs indicated Tuesday that Meng’s fate would be taken into consideration as the trade talks proceed.
A spokesman for Canada’s Justice Department said Tuesday night that the British Columbia Supreme Court had scheduled a hearing for Feb. 6 to confirm that the United States had made a formal extradition request by the deadline.
The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs indicated Tuesday that Meng’s fate would be taken into consideration as the trade talks proceed.
While American officials insist that Meng’s case is not a consideration in the trade negotiations, Trump suggested in December that he could intervene in the matter if it would help close a trade deal.
Trump administration officials have increasingly cautioned that a resolution to the tit-for-tat trade war will be hard to reach.
“I acknowledge the degree of difficulty,” Larry Kudlow, the director of the White House National Economic Council, said on Tuesday, referring to the magnitude of the structural changes that the United States is demanding from China.
Trump administration officials have increasingly cautioned that a resolution to the tit-for-tat trade war will be hard to reach.
“I acknowledge the degree of difficulty,” Larry Kudlow, the director of the White House National Economic Council, said on Tuesday, referring to the magnitude of the structural changes that the United States is demanding from China.
“At the end of the day, it has to be in America’s interest.”
Members of the United States national security community say there is a risk that Meng’s fate becomes entangled with trade considerations.
“Given previous reporting, at any moment, the administration could decide that extracting a trade concession is more important to U.S. national interests than the prosecution of this individual,” said David Laufman, a Washington lawyer who served as chief of the Justice Department’s counterintelligence and export control section.
Members of the United States national security community say there is a risk that Meng’s fate becomes entangled with trade considerations.
“Given previous reporting, at any moment, the administration could decide that extracting a trade concession is more important to U.S. national interests than the prosecution of this individual,” said David Laufman, a Washington lawyer who served as chief of the Justice Department’s counterintelligence and export control section.
Laufman declined to comment on the specifics of the case.
The arrest of Meng followed a yearslong investigation by Justice Department officials in Brooklyn looking at whether a company tied to Huawei did business in Iran in a way that violated sanctions, and whether Meng lied to American banks about Huawei’s connections to the smaller company, Skycom.
The arrest of Meng followed a yearslong investigation by Justice Department officials in Brooklyn looking at whether a company tied to Huawei did business in Iran in a way that violated sanctions, and whether Meng lied to American banks about Huawei’s connections to the smaller company, Skycom.
Justice Department officials aim to charge Meng with fraud.
Chinese officials say the arrest of Meng was based on political motivations and are linked to a broader Trump administration campaign against Huawei.
The United States has been urging other countries to prevent Huawei from building their networks, citing security concerns that the company poses.
Chinese officials say the arrest of Meng was based on political motivations and are linked to a broader Trump administration campaign against Huawei.
The United States has been urging other countries to prevent Huawei from building their networks, citing security concerns that the company poses.
American officials frequently point out that the founder of Huawei and Meng’s father, Ren Zhengfei, was a soldier decades ago in the People’s Liberation Army.
Some American allies, foremost among them Australia, have voiced similar security warnings about Huawei.
Days after Meng’s arrest, Chinese security officers separately detained two Canadian men, Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, in northern China.
Days after Meng’s arrest, Chinese security officers separately detained two Canadian men, Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, in northern China.
Mr. Kovrig is a diplomat on leave and a researcher for the International Crisis Group, and Mr. Spavor is an entrepreneur who has organized tours to North Korea.
Chinese officials have said security officers are investigating the men on potential national security charges.
Canada has said the arrests were arbitrary, and analysts say it is clear the men were detained as hostages to trade for Meng.
On Monday, more than 100 academics and former diplomats issued an open letter calling on China to free the men immediately.
Last week, a Chinese court sentenced to death Robert Lloyd Schellenberg, a Canadian man convicted of drug smuggling, further raising tensions.
On Monday, The Globe and Mail, a newspaper in Toronto, published an article in which David MacNaughton, the Canadian ambassador to the United States, said American officials would proceed with the extradition request.
Chrystia Freeland, the foreign minister of Canada, has said repeatedly that Canadian courts would make decisions based purely on legal considerations and not on politics.
On Monday, more than 100 academics and former diplomats issued an open letter calling on China to free the men immediately.
Last week, a Chinese court sentenced to death Robert Lloyd Schellenberg, a Canadian man convicted of drug smuggling, further raising tensions.
On Monday, The Globe and Mail, a newspaper in Toronto, published an article in which David MacNaughton, the Canadian ambassador to the United States, said American officials would proceed with the extradition request.
Chrystia Freeland, the foreign minister of Canada, has said repeatedly that Canadian courts would make decisions based purely on legal considerations and not on politics.
Ms. Freeland stressed that approach after Trump told Reuters in an interview in December that he could stop the extradition of Meng if China offered sufficient concessions in continuing negotiations aimed at ending a costly trade war between the United States and China that has dragged on since Mr. Trump started it last summer.
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