Huawei exec out of jail, just as US accuses China of Marriott hack

Tensions continue to build between two countries

The trade tensions between the US and China continue to build as American officials have accused Beijing of backing the massive Marriott data breach.

Huawei CFO Meng out of the slammer

This after Huawei exec Meng Wanzhou was bailed out of jail on Tuesday by Canadian authorities. Meng will continue to face the possibility of extradition to the US where she faces charges of fraud connected to the sale of goods to Iran in violation of international trade sanctions.

While Meng could still stand trial, the White House has also said it would consider making the case part of the ongoing trade talks between the US and China. Seeming to back up the theory that the arrest of Huawei's CFO was merely a negotiating tactic, President Trump said he would intervene in the case if it would help seal a larger trade deal.

Meanwhile, China has answered the US and Canadian arrests by making one of its own. Former Canadian diplomat Michael Kovrig was hauled into a Beijing jail earlier this week amidst vague charges of 'harming national security.'

That both sides are being seen as willing to use the freedom of private citizens as a bargaining chip will no doubt stoke fear among any of the thousands of tech companies who do business in both the US and China and constantly shift employees overseas to handle tasks like overseeing the assembly of new devices or working to regionalize software and products.

Feds have little doubt about Marriott culprit

Meanwhile, US investigators seem to be zeroing in on China in their hunt for the group behind the massive data theft from hotel chain Marriott. A New York Times report cited unnamed government officials in claiming that the harvest of detailed information of 500 million of the hotel chain's customers was the work of a Chinese intel-gathering operation.

That report was later backed up by US secretary of state Mike Pompeo, who in the midst of a media interview directly named China as being responsible for the hack.

Thus far, the US has yet to announce any official actions or indictments. ®