In the first public appearance since her return to China in September last year after 3 years of detention, Huawei's Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Meng Wanzhou said the company is still evaluating its response to Western sanctions on Russia.
Looking calm and cheerful, Meng reprised her role of presenting the financial report at the start of the meeting, saying it was her first time in four years. She made a glancing allusion to her detention and court battle in Canada, The Washington Post reported.
"The past four years, there have been tremendous changes in the world and in China," she said. "In the few months that I've been back, I've been trying to catch up. I hope I will catch up," she was quoted as saying.
Meng's detention in Canada at the request of U.S. officials in December 2018 sparked a hostage standoff in which China detained two Canadian nationals, Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, and charged them with espionage. Meng was indicted in the United States on fraud charges related to her representation of Huawei's relationship with an affiliate company operating in Iran, and she pleaded not guilty.
But in a deal with the U.S. Justice Department in September 2021, she acknowledged helping to conceal the company's direct dealings in Iran, which violated U.S. sanctions. That month, Meng returned to China, and the "Two Michaels" returned to Canada.
Huawei has been in crisis since 2018, with US sanctions against it threatening to cripple its business, and Meng, the daughter of Huawei's founder, battling extradition to the United States while under house arrest in Canada. The war in Ukraine brings more uncertainty for the company after it had increased investment in Russia over the past few years, the report said.
"Huawei is deeply concerned about this war and the suffering it has caused to the people," rotating chairman Guo Ping said on Monday in Shenzhen, in response to a reporter's question. "As for the (sanctions) you mentioned, we have also noticed that some countries and regions have introduced some policies. These policies and measures are complex and constantly changing, and Huawei is still in the process of careful evaluation."
Guo's statement was largely in line with Beijing's stance of refraining from joining Western sanctions against Russia while trying to avoid overt aid to Russia that could trigger secondary sanctions on Chinese companies.
China, in recent times, has advised its companies to adopt a "cautious" approach towards deals with Russia as the country appears to be succumbing to the Western powers who have imposed severe sanctions on Russia.
Recently, Sinopec, Asia's largest oil refiner moved to stop major investments in a gas chemical plant and a venture to market Russian gas in China in the wake of unexpectedly heavy Western-led sanctions against Moscow, The Standard Hong Kong reported.
( With inputs from ANI )
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