Meng Wanzhou, Huawei's chief financial officer, was seen as the successor to her father's tech empire before she was arrested for allegedly trying to evade American trade sanctions on Iran, The Washington Post reports.
Meng, who is being held in Canada and faces extradition to the U.S., started on the switchboard of her father's company in the early 1990s. Her current role as deputy chairman of the company's board has been compared to American tech giants such as Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg and Apple's Steve Jobs.
Huawei is the biggest global supplier of network gear used by phone and Internet companies.
China on Thursday demanded Meng's release and said she broke no U.S. or Canadian laws. Beijing also asked Ottawa and Washington to explain the reason for her arrest, with foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang saying her detention without one violated her human rights.
"The company has been provided very little information regarding the charges and is not aware of any wrongdoing by Ms. Meng," said a statement released by Huawei.
"The company believes the Canadian and U.S. legal systems will ultimately reach a just conclusion."
Meng's arrest has amplified the tense state of relations between U.S. and China, which recently agreed to a temporary truce in a tariffs war.
The U.S. has investigated Huawei for export violations since 2016.
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