What’s new: China’s ambassador to Canada, Cong Peiwu, has dismissed speculation about an imminent extradition of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou to the United States, after the Canadian attorney-general, David Lametti, said in a court document released last week that the requirements for extraditing Meng had been met.
When asked about Lametti’s statement, Cong said in an interview with Chinese national broadcaster CCTV Thursday that: “Regarding to the issue of the extradition [of Meng Wanzhou], for now it is still a hypothetical question.” Cong added that Lametti’s lawyers had already concluded that Meng would be eventually extradited since the Huawei chief financial officer’s was first arrested at the request of the U.S. on charges of bank fraud in 2018.
The background: The Canadian attorney-general’s court documents, which were released on July 31, are a precursor to the formal hearing on Meng’s extradition case, which will take place in April 2021.
“The evidence demonstrates that Ms. Meng deliberately made dishonest representations to HSBC in an attempt to preserve Huawei's relationship with the bank,” lawyers for Lametti wrote, according to Reuters. “Since Ms. Meng concedes that she is the person sought for prosecution for the conduct set out in the extradition request, all of the formal requirements for committal are established,” documents said.
Contact reporter Lu Zhenhua (zhenhualu@caixin.com) and editor Marcus Ryder (marcusryder@caixin.com)
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