China says President Xi gave personal orders on handling of Huawei case
President Xi Jinping handed down orders for handling the case of Huawei Technologies Co. executive Meng Wanzhou, China said, as Beijing seeks to cast her release as a diplomatic win over the US.
The Chinese president “gave instructions on Meng’s case ahead of the agreement with the US that led to her release from Canadian extradition proceedings,” Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said, without elaborating.
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She told a regular news briefing on Monday in Beijing that the result was a victory for justice.
The Huawei chief financial officer returned to Shenzhen on Saturday after admitting she had misled HSBC Holdings Plc about the telecom company’s business with Iran, in violation of US sanctions.
The agreement with federal prosecutors ended an almost three-year extradition battle in Canada as the US sought her prosecution.
At the same time, China released Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, who were detained on spying charges in what critics in the US and Canada denounced as “hostage diplomacy.”
On Monday, Hua asserted that the two cases weren’t connected, saying the Canadians’ release was “totally different.”
Read more: China welcomes Huawei executive home, silent on freed Canadians
