Huawei's CFO doesn't want her extradition hearing to be televised in case it attracts Trump

Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP

Huawei chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou.

• Huawei's chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou has asked a Canadian court not to televise her extradition hearing, according to Bloomberg.
• Lawyers for Meng, who is daughter of Huawei founder and CEO Ren Zhengfei, reportedly argued that televising the hearing would raise the chances of US President Donald Trump undermining her case.
• Meng stands accused of tricking banks into carrying out transactions involving Huawei that violated pre-existing US sanctions against Iran. She was arrested in Vancouver, British Columbia last December on the orders of US officials.
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Huawei's chief financial officer has asked a Canadian court not to televise her extradition hearing, according to a Bloomberg report published Thursday.

Meng Wanzhou is currently facing extradition from Canada to the US to fight accusations of deliberately undermining US sanctions against Iran through a network of alleged Huawei subsidiaries.

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Men is the daughter of Huawei's founder and CEO Ren Zhengfei. She stands accused of tricking banks into carrying out transactions that undermined the Iran sanctions, through two companies not obviously affiliated with Huawei. She was arrested in Vancouver, British Columbia last December on the orders of US officials.

According to Bloomberg, Meng's lawyers argued that putting the hearing on TV would raise the chances of US President Donald Trump undermining her case.

In a court paper, the lawyers reportedly said televising it "amplifies the risk that the President of the United States will once again intervene in the Respondent's case, or harbour resentments, that are both threatening and intimidating."

Trump's view on whether Meng should be extradited is not clear-cut.

In the aftermath of Meng's initial arrest, Trump told Reuters that he'd "certainly intervene if he thought it was necessary" to secure a good trade deal with China. On the flipside, it's been nearly a year since Meng's arrest, and Trump hasn't made any clear moves to press ahead with such intervention.

REUTERS/Aly Song

Meng is the eldest daughter of Huawei CEO Ren Zhengfei.

Meng's extradition hearing forms but a small chapter in what's become a saga of animosity between the US government and Huawei. The Chinese telecoms giant is the second-biggest smartphone maker in the world and a global leader in mobile network equipment.

Though it sells relatively few smartphones in the US, it has been hampered in its attempts to provide network equipment for 5G installation in the US and elsewhere. In May, Huawei was placed on a so-called "entity list" that made it illegal for US firms to trade with it without first obtaining a US government licence. This was due to concerns Huawei could double as a vehicle for Chinese government spying, something the company has consistently denied.

The Trump administration has also lobbied America's international allies to eschew Huawei, while Ren Zhengfei said after the blacklisting that he would ignore any attempts by Trump to negotiate a trade deal. Huawei is also reportedly paying its staff lavish bonuses for finding ways to sidestep US trade sanctions.

It's possible the ice may finally be starting to thaw: in June, Trump said that some US firms could trade with Huawei once again, while US commerce secretary Wilbur Ross said earlier this month that licenses for US companies to once again sell to Huawei would be coming "very shortly."