The United States and Canada moved Friday to ease tensions between them over the case of a top Chinese technology executive whose arrest by Canadian author
WASHINGTON – The United States and Canada moved Friday to ease tensions between them over the case of a top Chinese technology executive whose arrest by Canadian authorities has sparked a diplomatic crisis entangling the three countries.
Meng Wanzhou, the chief financial officer of Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei, was arrested in Canada on Dec. 1 at the request of the United States, which wants her extradited to face charges that she and her company misled banks about the company’s business dealings in Iran.
China detained two Canadians this week in apparent retaliation for Meng’s detention.
The case has set off a three-way diplomatic spat in which Canada is stuck in the middle. The dispute threatens to complicate ties between the U. S. and Canada, which were already testy. And President Donald Trump complicated matters by saying he might intervene in the case if would help clinch a U. S. trade agreement with China — much to the consternation of Canadian officials.
In talks at the State Department on Friday, the U. S. and Canadian foreign and defense ministers put on a united front, speaking of historically deep ties and cooperation on issues such as Iraq, Ukraine, Syria and Russia.
U. S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called for China to release the Canadians, saying their detention was “unlawful” and “unacceptable” in comments aimed at calming concerns in Ottawa that the Trump administration might abandon it in pursuit of a deal with Beijing.
