The first stage of an extradition hearing for a senior executive of Chinese telecom giant Huawei begins Monday in a Vancouver courtroom, a case that has infuriated Beijing, set off a diplomatic furore and raised fears of a brewing tech war between China and the United States.
Canada's arrest of chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou, the daughter of Huawei's legendary founder, in late 2018 at America's request shocked Beijing.
Huawei represents China's ambitions to become a technological power, but has been the subject of US security concerns for years.
Beijing views Meng's case as an attempt to contain China's rise. "This is one of the top priorities for the Chinese government. They've
"You are going to see the world divided into two parts. One side would use Chinese companies and the other side would not use Chinese companies because they are weary of the political implications of using Chinese platforms."
"The message that you are no longer invulnerable has been sent to Chinese executives," Lewis said. "No one has held China accountable. They steal technology, they violate their WTO commitments and the old line is, 'Oh, they are a developing economy, who cares.'