Opinion | If Huawei CFO Sabrina Meng Wanzhou isn’t safe from the US-China rivalry, then neither is Hong Kong’s trade status

Now do you believe it when I say don’t put it past the United States to revoke the special trading status it grants Hong Kong? By going after top Huawei Technologies executive Sabrina Meng Wanzhou, President Donald Trump’s administration has shown even the unimaginable is possible in its virtual cold war with China for global dominance.

Meng, a daughter of Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei, is considered corporate royalty in China. Yet Trump officials pressed Canada to arrest her for extradition to the US on alleged Iran sanctions violations even though they knew it would enrage Beijing.

What’s more, Meng’s arrest, while transiting Vancouver, came on the same day Trump had a sit-down with President Xi Jinping in Argentina to negotiate a trade war truce. If the US brazenly ignored the embarrassing timing, why would it hesitate to play rough with Hong Kong?

I’m not saying Congress will rescind our trade status any time soon, but many US lawmakers are now questioning why Hong Kong should get special customs treatment when they believe eroding freedoms have made it more like a mainland city.

Don’t forget the special status allows Hong Kong to import sensitive US technology. The US already suspects Hong Kong firms could re-export this technology to what it considers rogue regimes. Meng, who was granted bail yesterday, was arrested on suspicion that Huawei used a Hong Kong shell company to export US technology to Iran.

If Congress feels our freedoms are diminishing even further, it could give Trump an excuse to use Hong Kong as a chess piece should the Sino-US rivalry intensify. Control Risks, a global risk consultancy that advises policymakers and business leaders worldwide, believes the rivalry will indeed intensify.