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| Huawei escalates the dispute between the United States and China |
After a Canadian judge rejected new evidence that could help Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou avoid extradition to the United States, the possibility of a diplomatic dispute between the United States and China has risen.
The arrest of Wan Zhou, the daughter of the founder of a Chinese telecom company, led to a serious deterioration in relations between Canada, the United States and China.
Shortly after Wenzhou's arrest in Vancouver in December 2018, China arrested two Canadians in China.
Wanzhou's lawyers had hoped Chief Justice Heather Holmes, who oversaw the case in British Columbia's Supreme Court, would allow her to use some of the documents from HSBC in a Hong Kong court hearing.
Lawyers believe the documents show that Huawei did not mislead senior HSBC executives about its association with an Iranian company.
Wanzhou is charged with fraud in the United States for misleading HSBC. Huawei believes the issue is a big part of the trade war unleashed by Donald Trump.
Holmes later gave his reasons. But his ruling shows how reluctant Canadian law is to turn the extradition hearing scheduled to begin next month into a substantive trial to see if it misleads HSBC.
Wanzhou's lawyers did their best to obtain internal bank documents. They failed first in the UK court and then won the Hong Kong case.
Subsequently, the Canadian court ruled that documents containing email links should be published.
Huawei expressed its respect for the court's ruling. But she regretted the result. The document clearly shows that HSBC is aware of the relationship between Huawei and Skycom and its activities in Iran.
Wanzhou's lawyers said the documents proved the US misled Canadians in the summaries filed against his case for Canada.
They said: "The US government misled the Canadian authorities and requested their arrest in Vancouver because HSBC was aware of the transaction between Huawei and its subsidiary Skycom and the relationship between the two companies."
Huawei steps up bipolar conflicts
The United States said Wanzhou made a presentation to the chief executive of HSBC at a meeting in Hong Kong. This gives the impression that Skycom is only a local business partner of Huawei, not a subsidiary.
The attorney general said HSBC decided to conduct further financial transactions for Huawei based on Wenzhou's comments. This puts the bank at risk of reputational damage and criminal prosecution for violating the same penalties.
The plaintiff admitted in court that the documents showed that HSBC executives had received enough information to understand the actual relationship. However, there is no evidence that executives have achieved this understanding.
There is speculation that the US government will back down on the case. But once it starts, it's hard for anyone to stop.
The Wanzhou extradition case was originally scheduled to be heard in April of this year. However, the judge gave his lawyer more time to review Hong Kong court documents.
Deliveries are now scheduled to begin on August 3 and could continue into the fall. Wanzhou is still on bail and lives in Vancouver with her husband and children during the curfew.