A US Complaint, a Canadian Arrest - the Uncertainty of China's Meng Wanzhou

Canada, acting upon a complaint from the United States (US), arrested Chinese tech giant, Huawei's Chief Financial Officer, Meng Wanzhou, last Saturday, and has held the 46-year-old woman in custody ever since pending a bail hearing before the Vancouver, British Columbia courts today.

Meng's arrest spreads uncertainty about any immediate and positive outcome to a trade war the US started with China. Huawei is a behemoth Chinese company that sells more cell phones than American company Apple.

According to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), Meng is wanted on fraud charges in the US that are allegedly tied to sanctions with Iran. However, here arrest in Canada places Canada right in the middle of the US trade war with China. 

While little details are known about the merits of the allegations against Meng, her arrest will sure to raise tensions between the US and China. Moreover, the vast and far reaching scope of the US to request and to get foreign executives detained outside of the US on accusations of trading with Iran, will certainly develop into an current International Law study.

Though I do not know Meng nor her father, Ren Zhenfei, the founder and CEO of Huawei, nor any of their employees, I questioned Meng's arrest when it was publicized. However, following reports that Meng wanted the circumstances of her arrest kept unpublished, I simply don't know what to think anymore. If her arrest involved a violation of human rights, why would she seek to have the circumstances kept secret?

Certainly, Meng's predicament is shaping up to be an interesting event that will have ramifications upon world trade, to geopolitics and to International Law. 

China has called for her release as the US seeks her extradition from Canada. Will Canada continue to detain her? Will she be granted unlimited bail or bail limited to her remaining in Canada? Will she be extradited to the US?