No change in relationship with Huawei, Malta says

VALLETTA - The Maltese government has said that it will not be reviewing agreements with Huawei, the Chinese telecommunications leader recently targeted by US prosecutors, local media reported on Monday.

"... no change in the current relationship is being envisaged at this time," the Times of Malta quoted a spokesperson for the government as saying.

Malta signed a memorandum of understanding with Huawei over the introduction of 5G technology for Maltese businesses and citizens in July. Similar strategic agreements had been signed between the two sides.

"Malta will not interfere in the trade dispute between two countries with which it has excellent relations," said the Maltese government spokesperson, referring to the United States and China.

In a controversial case watched by international businesses and their executives amid trade tensions between the United States and China, Meng Wanzhou, Huawei's chief financial officer and daughter of the group's revered founder Ren Zhengfei, was arrested during her transit through Canada by officers acting upon a request from the United States.

China has summoned the ambassadors of both the United States and Canada to lodge strong protests against the arrest without legal basis and the treatment of Meng, who was seen handcuffed and shackled in a Vancouver court before she was convicted of any crime and despite her health problems.