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The Chinese embassy in Canada issued a statement opposing the arrest of “a Chinese citizen not violating any American or Canadian law” and calling for Meng’s release.

Meng Wanzhou, Huawei’s chief financial officer and the daughter of founder Ren Zhengfei, was taken into custody and under investigation while transiting at an unspecified airport in Canada, the company said in a statement on its website.

The arrest comes at a sensitive time for U.S.-China relations, as the pair attempt to reach a trade deal before a March deadline set by U.S. President Donald Trump to avert new punitive tariffs in their ongoing trade war. It also marks the latest in a growing series of U.S. actions against Chinese high-tech firms.

Chinese HUAWEI based in Shenzhen. The company has offices at major cities Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou, China also all over the world.

“Huawei has little information about the accusation against Meng and is not aware of any misconduct involving her,” Guo Ping, deputy and rotating chairman of Huawei, wrote on his WeChat social media account. He added that Huawei complies with “all laws and regulations where it operates, including export control and sanction laws and regulations of the UN, U.S. and EU."

Canada’s Justice Department confirmed to Caixin that Meng, who is also a vice chair on Huawei’s board, was arrested on Dec. 1 in Vancouver. She was being sought for extradition to the United States, and a bail hearing has been set for Friday, the department said in an email.

“As there is a publication ban in effect, we cannot provide any further detail at this time. The ban was sought by Ms. Meng,” the department added.

Canada’s Globe and Mail reported Meng was arrested for violating U.S. sanctions against Iran.

It was not immediately clear if the New York court order was seeking Meng’s arrest in relation to her position at Huawei. Meng previously served as a board member of Skycom Tech Co. Ltd., a company that allegedly offered to sell equipment from U.S. computing giant HP to Iran in 2010 in violation of American sanctions at the time, according to a Reuters report in 2013. The report said Huawei had described Skycom as one of its “major local partners.”

“The Chinese side has lodged stern representations with the U.S. and Canadian side, and urged them to immediately correct the wrongdoing and restore the personal freedom of Ms. Meng Wanzhou,” it said. “We will closely follow the development of the issue and take all measures to resolutely protect the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese citizens.”

Shenzhen-based Huawei is the latest Chinese tech firm to be targeted for allegedly violating U.S. sanctions. 

Meng, 46, was elected to Huawei’s board and named its chief financial officer in 2011. She was appointed vice chairman of the company in March.

If the U.S. investigation is targeted at Huawei, it would hurt one of China’s biggest high-tech.