By Barry Ellsworth</p> <p>TRENTON, Canada (AA) – The Chinese government demanded Thursday that Canada free a Huawei executive believed to be arrested for allegedly breaching U.S.-imposed sanctions on Iran.</p> <p>Washington asked Canada to take into custody chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou. Canadian authorities made the arrest Saturday in Vancouver. She faces the possibility of extradition to the U.S.</p> <p>In a statement released Thursday, the Chinese government said Meng has not broken any laws in the U.S. or Canada and demanded Canada “immediately correct the mistake” by setting her free.</p> <p>Canada has violated Meng’s human rights by failing to explain why she was arrested, the government said.</p> <p>The arrest has placed in jeopardy a truce in the trade war between China and the U.S., a truce agreed to by U.S. President Donald Trump that suspends tariffs on China for 90 days while the two sides work out a new trade deal.</p> <p>That possibility sent shock waves through early morning stock markets, with Hong Kong’s Hang Seng dropping 2.5 percent and the Germany DAX 1.8 percent.</p> <p>Meng requested and was granted a publication ban on the proceeding, so a Canada Justice Department spokesperson said more details on the arrest cannot be released.</p> <p> A court hearing is slated for Friday.</p> <p>Huawei is one of the largest manufacturers of telecommunications network equipment in the world.</p> <p>American authorities have been scrutinizing Huawei since 2016 because they believe the firm has been shipping U.S. tech products to Iran.</p> <p>The company, which manufactures myriad products including smartphones, is also suspected of espionage because of Huawei’s connection to the Chinese government.</p> <p>New Zealand and Australia have stopped telecom operators from using Huawei devices due to the risk of the Chinese government learning about their communications network equipment.</p> <p>But the United States went further when a pair of U.S. senators sent a letter to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, urging him not to deal with Huawei because of a high security risk.</p> <p>The Chinese embassy in the Canadian capital of Ottawa vigorously denied any wrongdoing by Meng said the arrest “seriously harmed” her “human rights.”</p> <p>“The Chinese side has lodged stern representations with the U.S. and Canada side, and urged them to immediately correct the wrongdoing and restore the personal freedom of Ms. Meng Wanzhou.”