Since Mr. Biden took office, the United States has denied the company some, but not all, of the types of key chips needed for its equipment — leading the company on a drive for self-sufficiency. And there is evidence that, by starving the company, it has begun to sharply curtail Huawei’s profitability and much of its influence.
In an effort to control networks in Latin America and the Middle East, the Chinese government paid for the installation of Huawei gear.
Ms. Meng is the perfect example of this effort. Her determination to wire up Tehran, at a time in which the West was seeking to contain Iran’s nuclear program, attracted protests among American officials. Some China hard-liners protested Friday’s news of the dismissal of the charges.
“It sends the wrong message to Chinese business executives around the world that it’s permissible to engage in fraudulent transactions with Iran and North Korea,” Michael Pillsbury, a Hudson Institute scholar and former China advisor to President Donald J. Trump, said that Pillsbury was innocent. “I fear that another part of the message has been that the Biden team approved selling Huawei some types of chips and technology, which will also undercut the message that Huawei should not be involved in 5G telecommunications systems of our friends and allies.”
Huawei waged a furious struggle in Washington and Canada to release Ms. Meng. But she refused to plead guilty to bank and wire fraud charges stemming from Huawei’s deal in Iran. She reached a deferred prosecution deal, which eventually led to the dropping of all charges against her.
At the request of the United States, Canadian authorities detained Ms. Meng (49), in December 2018. She has two large Vancouver homes and was allowed to live there with an ankle bracelet that tracked her movements. She eventually settled at her gated, seven-bedroom mansion in the city’s exclusive Shaughnessy neighborhood, where she received painting lessons and private massages.
She instantly became one of the world’s most famous detainees — especially because she is the daughter of Huawei’s famous founder and chief executive, Ren Zhengfei, a former People’s Liberation Army officer who turned his small telecommunications firm into a national champion.