Huawei CFO Back in Canada Court in Extradition Case as US Negotiates Resolving Charges

Huawei Technologies Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou arrives at court in Vancouver | Photo: REUTERS
Huawei Technologies Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou arrives at court in Vancouver | Photo: REUTERS
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Huawei CFO Back in Canada Court in Extradition Case as US Negotiates Resolving Charges

Huawei Technologies Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou arrives at court in Vancouver | Photo: REUTERS
Huawei Technologies Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou arrives at court in Vancouver | Photo: REUTERS

Huawei Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou will return to a Canadian court on Monday as witness testimony in her US extradition case resumes, amid news last week that her lawyers and US prosecutors held talks to reach a deal that could see her release and to return to China after two years of house arrest.

Meng, 48, was arrested in Canada in December 2018 on a warrant from the United States. She is facing charges of bank fraud for allegedly misleading HSBC Holdings Plc about Huawei Technologies Co Ltd’s business dealings in Iran, causing the bank to break US sanctions.

She has said she is innocent and is fighting the extradition from under house arrest in Vancouver.

US prosecutors are discussing a deal with lawyers for Huawei’s Meng to resolve criminal charges against her, a person familiar with the matter said on Thursday, signaling a potential end to a case that has strained ties between the United States, China, and Canada.

Her lawyers have argued in the British Columbia Supreme Court that Meng’s extradition should be thrown out based on alleged abuses of process that took place during her investigation by Canadian border officials and subsequent arrest by police.

They have also claimed the case has been politicized to the point where Meng would not receive a fair trial in the United States, pointing to comments made by President Donald Trump in an interview with Reuters in December 2018 about his willingness to use Meng as a bargaining chip in trade talks with China.

In previous weeks of witnesses’ cross examinations, officials from the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) testified in the court that the process leading up to Meng’s investigation and arrest was rushed but by the book.

Prosecutors are arguing that Meng’s extradition is valid and procedures were followed.

Meng’s arrest caused a chill in diplomatic relations between Ottawa and Beijing. Shortly after Meng was detained, China arrested two Canadian men - Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor - who now face spying charges.

On Friday, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the release of the two Canadians was his “top priority”, while declining to comment on the talks to release Meng.

Meng’s case is scheduled to wrap up in April 2021.



China’s Zhipu AI Launches Free AI Agent, Intensifying Domestic Tech Race

Words reading "Artificial intelligence AI", miniature of robot and toy hand are pictured in this illustration taken December 14, 2023. (Reuters)
Words reading "Artificial intelligence AI", miniature of robot and toy hand are pictured in this illustration taken December 14, 2023. (Reuters)
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China’s Zhipu AI Launches Free AI Agent, Intensifying Domestic Tech Race

Words reading "Artificial intelligence AI", miniature of robot and toy hand are pictured in this illustration taken December 14, 2023. (Reuters)
Words reading "Artificial intelligence AI", miniature of robot and toy hand are pictured in this illustration taken December 14, 2023. (Reuters)

Chinese artificial intelligence startup Zhipu AI unveiled a free AI agent on Monday, joining a wave of similar launches in China's increasingly competitive AI market.

The product, called AutoGLM Rumination, can perform deep research as well as tasks including web searches, travel planning, and research report writing, CEO Zhang Peng said at a lunch event in Beijing.

The agent is powered by Zhipu's proprietary models, including its reasoning model GLM-Z1-Air and foundation model GLM-4-Air-0414. The company claims GLM-Z1-Air matches rival DeepSeek's R1 in performance while running up to eight times faster and requiring only one-thirtieth of the computing resources.

AI agents are systems designed to make decisions and execute a range of tasks autonomously.

The launch follows a surge in Chinese AI product releases after DeepSeek shook the industry earlier this year with a model that it said operated at substantially lower costs than US rivals.

It also comes weeks after competitor Manus sparked interest with what it marketed as the world's first general AI agent.

While Manus charges users up to $199 monthly, Zhipu's AutoGLM Rumination will be available free of charge through the company's official channels, including its GLM model website and mobile app.

Zhipu AI, founded in 2019 as a spinoff from a Tsinghua University laboratory, has emerged as one of China's leading AI startups.

The company, which developed the GLM series of models, claims its latest large language model GLM4 outperforms OpenAI's GPT-4 on several benchmarks.

The startup made headlines earlier this month after securing three consecutive rounds of government-backed funding in a single month. The most recent investment came from the city of Chengdu, which injected 300 million yuan ($41.5 million) into the company.