China urges U.S. to revoke arrest warrant, extradition request on Huawei CFO

China urges the United States to withdraw the arrest warrant for Meng Wanzhou and stop seeking extradition for her from Canada, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said at a regular press briefing on Thursday.

Huawei Chief Financial Officer, Meng Wanzhou, leaves her residence to attend British Columbia Supreme Court, in Vancouver, on May 8, 2019. [Photo: AFP]

Meng, chief financial officer of Chinese technology giant Huawei, was arrested in Vancouver last December at the extradition request of Washington. She attended a court hearing in Vancouver on Wednesday.

"The United States and Canada are abusing a bilateral extradition treaty, and taking coercive measures without reason on a Chinese citizen," Geng said. "And, it's also a serious political event. China once again urges the U.S. to withdraw the arrest warrant and extradition of Meng Wanzhou."

He added that China also urges Canada to release Meng immediately.

Huawei said in a statement on Wednesday that the company has always been confident in the innocence of its CFO.

Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi called the case a "deliberate political move" at a press conference in March.