The arrest of Huawei Chief Financial Officer Meng Wenzhou is stirring up tensions between China and the Canadian and American governments, and Apple may find itself a casualty of war.
Meng Wenzhou is the daughter of company founder Ren Zhengfei, who is a former Chinese military officer. Needless to say, China is less than pleased with Wenzhou’s detainment, and they are already beginning retaliations with the detainment of a Chinese diplomat.
Apple is planning on releasing the HomePod in China in early 2019, but thanks to the scandal with Huawei, this may no longer be an option for them in the near future. Apple and Huawei are direct competitors, and China may see fit to make Apple’s presence in China as unpleasant as possible as punishment. Companies and the public alike are already calling for a boycott of all Apple products.
Adding fuel to the fire, China ruled in favor of Qualcomm in a dispute with Apple. This ruling has banned the selling of certain iPhone models in China. There’s no telling if China will decide to ban Apple products entirely, but it’s a possibility.
