Huawei executive lands in China after deal with US

Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou returned to China Saturday shortly after two Canadians released from prison in China also arrived in Calgary, ending a bitter diplomatic row that has poisoned ties for three years.
Meng and the two Canadians -- former diplomat Michael Kovrig and businessman Michael Spavor -- were detained in a bitter spat critics have called "hostage diplomacy". 
Meng, the 49-year-old daughter of Ren Zhengfei, the billionaire founder of Chinese telecoms giant Huawei, was granted release in a Vancouver court hearing after three years of house arrest in Canada while fighting extradition to the United States.
This came hours after US prosecutors announced an agreement under which fraud charges against her are to be suspended and eventually dropped.
She then quickly boarded a flight to the southern city of Shenzhen, returning to China for the first time since her arrest at Vancouver's international airport at the behest of US authorities in December 2018.
Meng received a red-carpet welcome home -- Huawei employees waited on the airport tarmac waving Chinese flags as a staffer in full protective gear offered her a bouquet of flowers, according to a live feed on state broadcaster CCTV.
"Being an ordinary citizen, I could not have secured my freedom without the support of my beloved country, and the love of the Chinese people," Meng told supporters from the tarmac, before leading the crowd in a rendition of a patriotic Chinese song.
Gushing coverage in Beijing's state media framed Meng's return as a victory for China against US attempts to stifle its success, with official news agency Xinhua saying she was free thanks to "unremitting efforts of the Chinese government".
Several hundred supporters gathered at Shenzhen airport arrivals hall waving Chinese flags and banners, with a red banner reading "Welcome home".
Some chanted "Go Huawei!" and sang the national anthem.
Earlier, the two detained Canadians arrived back in Calgary, western Canada on Saturday, and were shown on TV being greeted and hugged by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
The "two Michaels" -- as they have been dubbed by international media -- were detained just days after Meng on what Ottawa has contended were "trumped up" espionage charges. 
In turn, China's foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said Saturday that the detention of Meng was an "incident of political persecution against a Chinese citizen."