China on Sunday summoned the U.S. ambassador to China to Beijing to file a protest over the arrest of an executive with Chinese telecom giant Huawei Technologies, according to multiple reports.
The Associated Press cited Chinese news agency Xinhua, which said Vice Foreign Minister Le Yucheng “lodged solemn representations and strong protests” with U.S. Ambassador Terry Branstad over the detention of Huawei Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou.
Le reportedly called Meng’s arrest “extremely egregious” and demanded she be released. He added that China would take further steps, depending on Washington, D.C.’s response.
{mosads}Wanzhou was arrested by Canadian authorities last Saturday at the request of the U.S. after allegedly violating trade sanctions against Iran. News of the arrest caused U.S. markets to drop.
The charges against Meng reportedly relate to Huawei’s relationship with Skycom, a company that reportedly tried to sell computer equipment to Iran.
Meng’s arrest comes amid tensions between the U.S. and China over trade. President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping met in Argentina last week, where the two sides reached a truce on imposing additional tariffs amid ongoing negotiations.
Top White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said Sunday that Trump did not know about the arrest when he met with Xi. He added that Trump had “no reaction” when he learned of Meng’s detention.