Meng Wanzhou Chief Financial Officer of Huawei Date of Birth: 13.02.1972 Country: China

1. Meng Wanzhou: Huawei's Chief Financial Officer
2. Early Life and Education
3. Huawei Career
4. Arrest and Extradition Proceedings
5. Release and Swap
6. Personal Life

Meng Wanzhou: Huawei's Chief Financial Officer

Meng Wanzhou is a Chinese businesswoman who serves as the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of Huawei. She is the daughter of Huawei's founder and CEO, Ren Zhengfei, and his first wife, Meng Jun. Meng Wanzhou became widely known during the US-China trade war.

Early Life and Education

After graduating from college in 1992, Meng Wanzhou worked for a year at the China Construction Bank. She subsequently joined Huawei as a secretary. She also pursued a master's degree from the University of Science and Technology of Central China in Wuhan.

Huawei Career

Meng Wanzhou has resided in Vancouver, Canada, and Hong Kong. She became Huawei's CFO in March 2018.

Arrest and Extradition Proceedings

On December 1, 2018, Meng Wanzhou was arrested in Vancouver at the request of the United States. She was accused of conspiring to defraud banks and violating US sanctions against Iran. Her lawyers argued that the evidence presented by the US was "unreliable and misleading" and should therefore be excluded from the Canadian court proceedings for her extradition to the US. Meng Wanzhou remained under house arrest in Vancouver.

On July 9, 2021, Canadian Judge Heather Holmes dismissed Meng's application to admit various exculpatory evidence in her extradition case against the United States. Meng's lawyers argued that the evidence would defeat the US's extradition attempt against her and prove that the US's charges against Meng were politically motivated and arbitrary. In 2018, Donald Trump had suggested that the US could use Meng as a "bargaining chip" in trade negotiations with China. Holmes did not provide reasons for her decision to exclude Meng's exculpatory evidence from the proceedings.

Release and Swap

On September 24, 2021, Meng was released after reaching a deal with the US Justice Department and flew back to China. That same day, China released two Canadians, businessman Michael Spavor and diplomat Michael Kovrig, who had been detained in China shortly after Meng Wanzhou's arrest and charged with espionage. Spavor was sentenced to 11 years in prison.

Personal Life

Meng Wanzhou has been married to Liu Xiaozong since 2007. They have one child together, and her husband has children from previous marriages. Meng Wanzhou has a brother.