China strongly urges U.S. to stop crackdown on Huawei

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01:07

"China strongly urges the U.S. side to stop its unreasonable crackdown on Chinese companies, including Huawei, and treat Chinese companies in an objective and fair manner," Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Geng Shuang said, reiterating China's stance on Tuesday.

"There are strong political attempts and manipulation behind these actions," Geng stressed.

Overview of Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou's arrest

China urges U.S. to drop Huawei CFO extradition

"China will firmly defend the lawful and legitimate rights and interests of Chinese enterprises. China once again urges the U.S. to immediately revoke the arrest warrant for Meng Wanzhou," Geng said.

Huawei denies any wrongdoing

00:39

Huawei denied any law violations or wrongdoing and is disappointed to learn of the charges brought against the company, according to a statement Huawei sent to CGTN on Tuesday.

The charges filed against Huawei in the U.S. include bank fraud, obstruction of justice and theft of technology.

Huawei denied that the company or its subsidiary or affiliate have committed any of the asserted violations of U.S. law outlined in each of the indictments. It is not aware of any wrongdoing by Meng either, and believes the U.S. courts will ultimately reach the same conclusion, the statement said.

Huawei's chief financial officer "should not be a hostage" in Sino-U.S. relations, her lawyer said on Tuesday after the U.S. announced criminal charges days before China-U.S. trade talks.

"Our client Meng, should not be a pawn or a hostage
in this relationship. Meng is an ethical and honorable businesswoman who has never spent a second of her life plotting to violate any U.S. law, including the Iranian sanctions."

The U.S. Justice Department on Monday filed charges against Huawei and its chief financial officer, Meng Wanzhou, for violating U.S. sanctions on Iran.

Huawei said it had sought to discuss the charges with U.S. authorities "but the request was rejected without explanation".

Abuse of extradition treaty

For some time, the U.S. has used state power to discredit and crack down on certain Chinese companies in an attempt to harm the legitimate operations of these enterprises, Geng added.

The spokesman also condemned how the U.S. and Canada are abusing their bilateral extradition treaty and taking unreasonable enforcement measures against Chinese citizens, noting that it is a serious violation of the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese citizens.

China also urged the Canadian side to treat China's stance seriously, immediately release Meng and protect her legitimate rights, and not be a "cat's paw" for the U.S., he said.