Who?

Well, in case you’re just waking up from a long slumber or have missed news for over a week now, Ms Meng is the chief financial office of China’s largest private company, which is the telecom giant Huawei. Popularly known as Cathy Meng among her western clients and colleagues, Sabrina Meng Wanzhou is the daughter of Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei, an ex-People’s Liberation Army man who co-founded Huawei in 1987. And she was arrested while changing flights in Canada’s Vancouver on December 1, triggering some tension between the United States and China.

Why was she booked?

Canada acted upon a request from the US, whose Justice Department had issued arrest warrants on her. The US says Meng withheld information and misled a few banks about Huawei’s relationship with Skycom, a company the US alleges does business with Iran, violating its sanctions against the Islamic republic. You may recall the US has imposed several sanctions on Iran and it doesn’t engage in any trade ties with companies that breach those sanctions.

So what exactly is Huawei’s relationship with Skycom?

Skycom Tech is based in Hong Kong and sells telecom equipment. In fact, not much is known about the small company. But when Meng was arrested in Canada, her prosecutors called Skycom an “unofficial subsidiary”of Huawei, which in fact helped the company sell network products to Iran. US agencies say Skycom’s contracts in Iran were in the local rial. Skycom was dissolved last year, but the US says it has proof to show Skycom employees worked for Huawei and Meng, a director of Skycom.

Looks like serious charges.

US President Trump in his inimical style said he could intervene in the case of the Huawei CFO’s arrest if it would serve the US national security interests or help close a trade deal with China. That shows the gravity of the situation and, as expected, China was in no mood the take it lightly. Considering the, alleged, close ties Huawei has with the Chinese Communist Party and the Chinese army, it was natural that the arrest of Meng would snowball into a diplomatic wrangle.

What did China do?

It summoned the US ambassador and Beijing marked its protest over Meng’s arrest in strong terms, according to Xinhua , the Chinese news agency. Even though analysts and US media reports say the issue is a standalone one and not directly linked to the ongoing tussle between the US and China over trade issues, considering the geopolitical realities and the rhetoric coming from both sides — China and the US — it looks like the issue will blow itself into a major drama in next to no time.

Should we be worried?

Well, considering the business Huawei does in India and elsewhere — the company is the world’s largest supplier of telecom network equipment and the second-biggest producer of smartphones — any major business or legal battle it gets into has the potential to impact its products, services and clients across the globe. That said, such controversies are nothing new to Huawei; many of its products are banned in the US and countries such as Australia and New Zealand are contemplating curbs on Huawei products. Still, a large chunk of countries welcome its cost-efficient, quality products. In India, for instance, Huawei’s Honor phones are quite popular. Its networking products are also popular here.

That’s interesting. So, what will happen to Meng now?

On Wednesday the Huawei CFO was granted bail by a Canadian court. She can now stay in her residence in Vancouver but may be handed over to the US if the US Justice Department so wishes. If that happens, the issue will transform into one of the most interesting and intensely fought business-cum-geopolitical battles between China and the US. As they say, picture abhi bhi baki hei.

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