A Canadian judge on Friday rejected Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou's request to relax her bail conditions as she fights against extradition to the US on fraud and conspiracy charges.

British Columbia Supreme Court Justice William Ehrcke ruled that the Chinese businesswoman must remain under constant supervision by court-ordered security guards — imposed after her arrest two years ago.

"The conditions imposed in my original bail order are the minimum necessary to ensure Ms. Meng will attend court as and when required and will not flee the jurisdiction," Ehrcke said.

"These conditions are necessary… in light of the fact that Ms. Meng is neither a resident nor citizen of Canada, has significant resources at her disposal, and is facing serious charges that could ultimately result in her incarceration in the US if she is convicted."

Meng's arrest on a US warrant during a Vancouver stopover in December 2018 — and Beijing's subsequent detention of two Canadians — caused a major diplomatic rift between Canada and China.

She faces fraud and conspiracy charges in the United States related to alleged violations of US sanctions against Iran by Huawei and a covert subsidiary, Skycom.

The entrepreneur — whose father is Huawei founder and CEO Ren Zhengfei — denies hiding the company's relationship with Skycom in Iran from HSBC bank.

Meng's lawyers had asked the court to cancel a requirement that she be accompanied by private guards in daytime, when she's not under curfew and house arrest.

She must still wear a GPS monitoring anklet at all times and remain at home at night.

Meng's husband Liu Xiaozong had testified that the constant presence of security guards on outings put her at increased risk of catching the coronavirus.

Lawyers for Canada's attorney general opposed modifying her bail conditions.

Meng's extradition trial is scheduled to resume in March and wrap up at the end of May.

Huawei smartphone sales plunge as US sanctions bite
Beijing (AFP) Jan 29, 2021 –

Sales of smartphones made by Chinese telecom giant Huawei plunged in the latest quarter of 2020 as they were hit by US sanctions on its suppliers, research firm Canalys said on Friday.

Domestic sales fell 44 percent to 18.8 million units in October-December, according to data released by research firm Canalys. That comes after separate figures earlier this week from industry tracker International Data Corp (IDC) showed overseas shipments plunged 43 percent to 32 million.

"It is possibly Huawei's toughest time as it is restrained to even serve its home market," Nicole Peng, a researcher at Canalys, wrote in a research note.

Sales were hit as Huawei was unable to meet high demand "as a result of US sanctions", the note said.

The administration of former President Donald Trump barred Huawei from the US market, pressured allies to shun its telecom networking gear and imposed a succession of escalating sanctions including cutting off access to vital components.

The Trump administration had said Huawei's telecom equipment installed globally could be used by China for espionage.

Huawei has repeatedly denied the allegation, saying the US government had never produced evidence of the charge and suggesting the moves were motivated more by national economic competition in the tech field.

Huawei last year briefly became the world's top mobile phone seller but its market share shrank to just eight percent in the fourth quarter, falling behind Apple, Samsung and even Chinese rivals Xiaomi and Oppo, according to IDC.

The company barely held on to its top position in the Chinese market, where its share fell to 22 percent from 38 percent in the same period the year before, Canalys said.

Huawei announced in November it had sold its Honor brand of budget smartphones, citing "tremendous" supply chain pressures caused by US sanctions.