As the daughter of the founder of Chinese telecoms giant Huawei, Meng Wanzhou was known internally as the "princess" of the company and its possible future leader, but for nearly three years, she's been stuck in Canada fighting extradition to the United States.

Now, after reaching a "deferred prosecution" deal with the US Department of Justice, the 49-year-old chief financial officer may be able to reclaim her throne.

The agreement -- under which she would avoid felony fraud charges in exchange for agreeing to the "statement of facts" in the case -- clears the way for Meng to leave Canada.

Meng was arrested in Vancouver in December 2018 at the request of the United States, which had sought her extradition over allegations that she had defrauded HSBC Bank and other banks by falsely misrepresenting links between Huawei and Skycom, an affiliate that sold telecoms equipment to Iran.

The move added to deepening divisions between Washington and Beijing, and caught Canada in the middle.

But on a more personal level, the affair has been a major setback for Meng, who had been rising through the ranks of the company founded by her father Ren Zhengfei, sparking speculation that she would someday assume full control.

Doing so would make her one of the world's top woman corporate bosses.

Instead, she's spent years living in a Vancouver mansion with an electronic monitor around her ankle.

According to her social media posts, when not in court fighting extradition, she's spent time catching up on reading and learning how to paint.

Frederic Megret, an extradition expert at McGill University in Montreal, said Meng is a key player in "the rise of Chinese capitalism embodied by Huawei."

She is also "the face" of the China-US rivalry, added Moncton University's China specialist Roromme Chantal.

- 'Humble' start at Huawei -

At the time of her arrest, Huawei was the second-largest smartphone manufacturer in the world after Samsung Electronics, and has since climbed the Fortune Global 500 rankings to the 44th spot, with revenues of US$136 billion in the most recent fiscal year.

Ren, 76, a former People's Liberation Army engineer, founded the company with a few thousand dollars in 1987, growing it into one of the world's leading suppliers of hardware for telecommunications networks.

Meng has sought to stress her own "humble" beginnings, with Chinese media reporting that she once penned an internal memo claiming that her first tasks at the Shenzhen-based company involved secretarial work -- answering phones and typing.

But she went on to earn a management degree and later joined Huawei's finance department.

According to Chinese media, Meng kept her head down for years, to such an extent that few knew who her father was. This may have been aided by the fact that she took her mother's surname from a young age, for reasons that remain unclear.

"He is a CEO at work, and a father at home," Meng once said of Ren, to emphasize that competence, not connections, determined one's path at Huawei.

In interviews, she has referred to him as "President Ren" rather than "father".

- Rising star -

But Meng's career soon took off and she rose to top financial positions.

Huawei credits her for reorganizing the company's financial and IT architecture beginning in the early 2000s, so that the company could cope with its rapid global growth.

Little is known about Huawei's internal operations, as it is not publicly listed, and Meng herself remained an obscure figure until 2011, when the company unveiled its top leadership for the first time with Meng listed as CFO.

She then began to assume a higher profile, representing Huawei overseas where she rubbed elbows with world leaders and corporate bosses, including a 2014 business forum where she sat on a panel with the likes of Russia's Vladimir Putin.

In contrast to the often colorless male executives who populate the upper ranks of China Inc., Meng is known for an easy smile and good English, and appears to have taken not one but two English names -- "Cathy" and "Sabrina".

Despite being dubbed the "Princess of Huawei", she is said to be respected among company rank and file as approachable and self-deprecating.

She also appears to have eschewed the socialite lifestyle of her much younger half-sister, Annabel Yao, a ballerina turned pop singer.

Prior to her arrest on a Vancouver stopover, there had been growing speculation that Meng was being groomed for Huawei's top echelon.

Ren told broadcaster CNBC midway through her extradition fight that it would "make her stronger and prepare her for even greater things ahead."

What remains to be seen is if Huawei -- or Chinese authorities -- would allow her to resume her rise, given she will always be linked to US accusations of company wrongdoing.

Arrests, anger and court battles -- the case of Meng Wanzhou
New York (AFP) Sept 25, 2021 - The 2018 arrest in Vancouver of Huawei chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou on a US warrant, followed by China's detention of two Canadians, sparked an unprecedented dispute between Beijing and Ottawa.

On Friday, a legal agreement in New York paved the way for Meng to board a plane to China after nearly three years of detention in Canada and for the two Canadian men to also set off home.

Here are the key dates in the case:

- Wanted: Meng Wanzhou -

In August 2018, a New York court issues an arrest warrant for Meng, Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei's number two, dubbed the "Princess of Huawei."

The US justice department accuses Meng -- the daughter of Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei -- of having lied to HSBC about Huawei's relationship with its Iran-based covert subsidiary Skycom, putting the bank at risk of violating US sanctions against Iran.

- Meng's arrest -

On December 1, Meng is arrested at the request of US authorities as she changes planes in Vancouver.

On December 6, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says there was no "political intervention" and that Canada's judicial system is acting independently in dealing with the US extradition request.

Two days later, on December 8, China threatens Canada with severe consequences.

- Two Michaels detained in China -

On December 10, China detains former diplomat Michael Kovrig, who was employed by the International Crisis Group think tank, and business consultant Michael Spavor under suspicion of "engaging in activities that threatened China's national security."

The arrests are widely seen by observers as retaliation for Meng's detention.

- Trudeau and Trump -

In January 2019, Trudeau and then US president Donald Trump denounce China's "arbitrary detention" of the two Canadians.

Later that month, Trudeau dismisses Canada's ambassador to China, John McCallum, for saying in an interview with Chinese media that Meng had solid grounds to contest her extradition to the United States.

- Death sentence -

Also in January 2019, diplomatic tensions heighten when a court in northeast China sentences Canadian Robert Lloyd Schellenberg, 36, to death at a hastily scheduled retrial after his previous 15-year prison term for drug trafficking was deemed too lenient.

Schellenberg was detained well before the diplomatic feud, back in 2014.

Following the death sentence, Canada updates its travel advisory for China, warning citizens of the "risk of arbitrary enforcement of local laws."

In response, China warned its citizens of the "risks" of travel to Canada citing Meng's arrest.

- Trade woes -

In March 2019, Beijing cites "hazardous pests" found in Canadian shipments of canola to justify a ban on imports of the seed used to make cooking oil, biodiesel and animal feed.

In June, China suspends all imports of Canadian beef and pork, saying it had uncovered false veterinary health certificates.

In November, Beijing announces it will resume Canadian meat imports.

- Formal charges -

In June 2020, China formally charges Kovrig and Spavor, more than 18 months after their arrests.

The Supreme People's Procuratorate says they are "suspected of foreign espionage" and "providing state secrets."

- Request to relax bail conditions -

In January 2021, Meng's lawyers ask a court to ease her bail conditions, which include a curfew, an ankle bracelet, and daytime supervision by security guards at the Vancouver mansion where she has lived since her arrest.

The judge sides with government lawyers who objected.

- A deal is done -

Kovrig and Spavor are tried in March. Spavor is sentenced to 11 years in prison in China. No outcome is yet announced in Kovrig's case.

On September 24, Meng reaches a deal with US prosecutors to avoid felony fraud charges, and is granted release in a Vancouver court hearing. She quickly leaves for the Chinese city of Shenzhen.

Shortly afterwards, Trudeau announces that the two Canadians, Kovrig and Spavor, are headed home to Canada after being released by China.

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