Ren Zhengfei, founder of Huawei, China, said Monday that Meng Wanzhou, the company's chief financial officer, was arrested for political motives. Meng Wanzhou is Ren Zhengfei's daughter.
"First of all, I oppose the American approach. Such politically motivated behaviour is unacceptable, "Ren Zhengfei said in an interview with the BBC.
Canada arrested Meng on December 1 last year at the request of the United States. Meng was accused of bank fraud and telecommunications fraud, violating U.S. sanctions against Iran.
The U.S. Department of Justice denied the charges were politically motivated. "The Ministry of Justice's criminal case against Meng Wanzhou, Huawei's chief financial officer, is entirely based on evidence and law. "The department pursues cases without any political interference and follows evidence and the rule of law when pursuing criminal charges," Nicole Navas, a spokesman for the department, said in an e-mail to Reuters.
The United States has repeatedly accused Huawei and another Chinese network equipment manufacturer, ZTE (0763.HK) (000063.SZ), of being ordered by the Chinese government. The United States says the equipment of the two companies could be used to monitor the American people. Huawei has repeatedly denied these allegations.
Speaking of concerns about espionage, Ren reiterated that the company would "never engage in" any espionage activities.
Huawei is the world's largest telecom equipment manufacturer. Its relations with the Chinese government and allegations of its assistance in state espionage have brought it under strict scrutiny in Western countries. The United States has called on allies not to use the company's products and technologies.
Ren Zhengfei said the company might scale down to accommodate American practices.
"The world cannot live without us, because we have more advanced technology. Even if the United States persuades more countries not to use our products for the time being, we can always scale down a little, "he added.
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