‘The appropriate authorities took the decisions,’ Trudeau said. Nonetheless, Canada could face political or economic retaliation over the arrest
OTTAWA — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is denying any political involvement in the arrest of a top Chinese tech executive at the Vancouver airport last weekend, while experts warn the move could put a chill on Canada-China relations.
Canadian authorities arrested Meng Wanzhou, the chief financial officer of Huawei and the daughter of its founder, on Saturday as she was changing planes. She is to appear in a Vancouver court on Friday for a bail hearing. She is facing extradition to the United States on U. S. suspicions that Huawei violated sanctions against Iran by providing that country with telecommunications equipment. Details about the arrest are under a publication ban at Meng’s request.
Trudeau denied that there was any political impetus to the decision to detain Meng. “The appropriate authorities took the decisions in this case. We were advised by them with a few days’ notice that this was in the works but of course there was no engagement or involvement in the political level in this decision because we respect the independence of our judicial processes,” he said Thursday.
Nonetheless, Canada could face political or economic retaliation. A private meeting between Canadian MPs and Chinese officials Thursday was cancelled, raising the question of whether China wanted to halt high-level talks altogether. The Chinese embassy confirmed to the National Post that it was rescheduled “due to visa issues,” however, and the delegation was still set to arrive late Thursday.
Aside from demanding Meng’s release — with the Chinese embassy saying Thursday it “firmly opposes and strongly protests over such kind of actions which seriously harmed the human rights of the victim” — China appears to be in a holding pattern, with experts suggesting that it is unlikely the country will retaliate immediately.
