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The reaction, and the fact the dispute centres on Huawei, encapsulates so much of what makes China an increasing worry to business and political figures. It is one of the country’s most successful and respected companies, having grown to become a leading player among the world’s telecommunications equipment and services providers.

It is also closely tied to China’s communist leadership, a typical example of the close-knit and opaque nature of Chinese firms and their links to the state. Meng is the daughter of the Huawei’s founder, Ren Zhengfei, though she started her career there as a receptionist and her relationship to Ren was not widely known until she climbed closer to the top of the corporate ladder. Despite worldwide operations, such is the level of distrust of Huawei that, even before Meng’s arrest, Ottawa was under pressure to ban its equipment in next-generation telecommunications networks, as Australia, New Zealand and the U.S. have done. Intelligence agencies in those countries maintain the Chinese firm is a security risk and have blocked telecom companies from using its 5G technology.

Though Huawei insists it is free of state control and denies breaking any laws, suspicions remain deep and difficult to shake. Reports indicate Japan will soon join others in banning government purchases of its products to guard against intelligence leaks and cyber attacks.

The case against Meng reflects these doubts. The U.S. is seeking her extradition on accusations she sought to evade sanctions on Iran by disguising links between Huawei and a firm named SkyCom. While Meng claimed SkyCom was a separate entity, a Crown lawyer told a British Columbia court that, in reality, the two firms were directly tied to one another. “SkyCom is Huawei,” he said.