A lawyer for Huawei Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou has argued that "double criminality" was at the centre of a trial to decide whether she can be extradited to the US, a case that has strained relations between Ottawa and Beijing.
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Meng, 47, arrived in a Vancouver courtroom wearing a dark top with polka dots, for the first phase of a trial that will last at least four days, as China repeated its call for Canada to release her.
Legal experts have said it could be years before a final decision is reached in the case, since Canada's justice system allows many decisions to be appealed.
The United States has charged Meng with bank fraud, and accused her of misleading HSBC Holdings Plc about Huawei Technologies Co Ltd's business in Iran.
Court proceedings show the US issued the arrest warrant, which Canada acted on in December 2018, because it believes Meng covered up attempts by Huawei-linked companies to sell equipment to Iran, breaking US sanctions against the country.
Meng, the daughter of Huawei's billionaire founder Ren Zhengfei, remains free on bail in Canada, and has been living in a mansion in Vancouver's exclusive Shaughnessy neighborhood.
She has said she is innocent and is fighting extradition in part because her alleged conduct was not illegal in Canada, an argument known legally as "double criminality."
Unlike the United States, Canada did not have sanctions against Iran at the time Canadian officials authorised commencing with the extradition, her lawyers have said.
The central issue is "double criminality," defence lawyer Richard Peck told the court.
"Would we be here in the absence of US sanctions law, and ... our response is no," Peck said.
"In a typical case, double criminality is not contentious. This case, however, is founded on an allegation of breach of US sanctions, sanctions which Canada has expressly repudiated," he added.
Peck said the United States cast this matter as a case of fraud against a bank, which he described as "an artifice".
"In reality, sanctions violation is the essence of the alleged misconduct ... the United States has a global interest in enforcing its Iran sanctions. Sanctions drive this case," Peck added.
Meng's legal team is currently only scheduled to call evidence in the last week of April, and a second phase of the trial, focusing on abuse of process and whether Canadian officials followed the law when arresting Meng, is set to begin in June. Closing arguments are expected in the last week of September and first week of October.
The case has had a chilling effect on relations between Ottawa and Beijing. China has called Meng's arrest politically motivated.
Meng's legal team argued in November that she could not be extradited as Canada did not have sanctions against Iran at the time Canadian officials authorised commencing with the extradition, meaning her conduct was not illegal.
In response, Canada's attorney general said Meng was arrested on charges of fraud and misleading HSBC, which is a crime in both countries.
"Our government has been clear that we are a rule-of-law country and that we honor our extradition treaty commitments. That is what we need to do and that is what we will do," Freeland said.
Australian Associated Press
