China’s foreign ministry called in the U. S. ambassador on Sunday to lodge a “strong protest” over the arrest in Canada of Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd.’s chief financial officer. China also cancelled meetings for a B. C. trade mission.
The detention of an executive of Chinese electronics giant Huawei in Canada is already having repercussions in Canadian-Chinese trade relations.
Bruce Ralston, British Columbia’s minister of jobs, trade and technology, on Sunday issued a statement saying the province has rescheduled the upcoming China meetings of B. C.’s current Forestry Asia Trade Mission.
He said the China leg of the mission, set to take place after talks in Japan wrap on Tuesday, has been suspended “due to the international judicial process underway” relating to a senior official at Huawei Technologies Co.
Ralston said B. C. “values its strong trade relationship with China, one based on mutual respect and close economic and cultural ties that have been established over many decades,” and his government will try to reschedule the talks “at the earliest convenient moment.”
China summoned the U. S. ambassador to Beijing on Sunday to protest the detention of Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou in Canada at Washington’s behest and demanded Washington cancel an order for her arrest.
The official Xinhua News Agency said Vice Foreign Minister Le Yucheng “lodged solemn representations and strong protests” with Ambassador Terry Branstad against the detention of Huawei’s chief financial officer, Meng Wanzhou.
Meng, who is reportedly suspected of trying to evade U. S. trade curbs on Iran, was detained on Dec. 1 while changing planes in Vancouver.
The Xinhua report quoted Le as calling Meng’s detention “extremely egregious” and demanded the U. S. vacate an order for her arrest. It quoted Le as calling for the U. S. to “immediately correct its wrong actions” and said it would take further steps based on Washington’s response.
