China\u2018s official Xinhua news agency has attacked Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for not telling Beijing in advance and \u201cletting this nasty thing happen.\u201c<\/b>
\nThis story is being published for POLITICO as part of a content partnership with the South China Morning Post. It originally appeared on scmp.com on Dec. 9,2018.
China has ratcheted up the pressure on Canada to release the detained executive of Huawei Technologies over the weekend by threatening \u201cgrave consequences\u201d and accusing Canada of \u201churting the feelings of the Chinese people,\u201d escalating the case into one of the worst diplomatic rows between Beijing and Ottawa.
Chinese foreign vice-minister Le Yucheng on Saturday summoned Canadian ambassador John McCallum to lodge a \u201cstrong protest\u201d against the arrest of Sabrina Meng Wanzhou in Vancouver and urged Ottawa to release Meng immediately, according to a brief foreign ministry statement.
Meng, the chief financial officer at Huawei and a daughter of the Chinese telecom giant\u2019s founder, was arrested in Vancouver on Dec. 1 and faces extradition to the United States, which alleges that she covered up her company\u2019s links to a firm that tried to sell equipment to Iran in defiance of sanctions.
The arrest of Meng in Canada, which took place on the same night that Chinese President Xi Jinping and President Donald Trump dined together in Buenos Aires, has infuriated Beijing.
The official Xinhua news agency published an editorial on Sunday morning condemning the arrest as an \u201cextremely nasty\u201d act that had caused \u201cserious damage to Sino-Canada relations,\u201d
\u201cAccording to the words of the Canadian leader, he had known of the action in advance,\u201d Xinhua said, referring to the fact that Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau \u2014 whom it did not did name directly \u2014 had a few days\u2019 notice of the arrest.
\u201cBut he didn\u2019t notify the Chinese side. Instead, he let this kind of nasty thing to happen and assisted the US side\u2019s unilateral hegemonic behavior \u2014 this has hurt the feeling of Chinese people,\u201d Xinhua added.
The last time that Beijing accused Canada of hurting the feelings of the Chinese people was more than a decade earlier in 2007, when then-prime minister Stephen Harper hosted the Dalai Lama.
People\u2019s Daily, the mouthpiece of the ruling Communist Party, published a similarly strongly worded statement, condemning Canada for arresting Meng and threatening to take action against Ottawa if Meng is not released.
\u201cThe Canadian side must realize clearly that there\u2019s no vagueness between justice and arbitrariness,\u201d the People\u2019s Daily editorial reads.
\u201cThe Canadian side must correct its wrongs and immediately stop its infringement of the legitimate rights and interests of the Chinese citizen to give the Chinese people a right answer so that it can avoid paying a dear price.\u201d
The joint condemnation by China\u2019s foreign ministry, Xinhua and the People\u2019s Daily against Ottawa is an unusual step, reflecting how seriously Beijing is taking the case and its determination to set Meng free.
While China did not specify what action it would take to inflict pains on Canada, the harsh wording suggests that it has plans to retaliate.
These could range from the freezing of diplomatic exchanges to the suspension of trade and would be likely to be set in motion if Meng is extradited to the U. S.
David Mulroney, a former Canadian ambassador to China, told Reuters on Friday that there will probably be \u201ca deep freeze with the Chinese in high-level visits and exchanges.\u201d
\u201cThe ability to talk about free trade will be put in the ice box for a while. But we\u2019re going to have to live with that. That\u2019s the price of dealing with a country like China,\u201d Mulroney was quoted as saying.
Shi Yinhong, director of Renmin University\u2019s Center for American Studies and an adviser to the State Council, said that the Meng incident put China in a bind between the need to show it can protect its business people abroad without spooking other advanced industrial nations with a strong response against Canada.
\u201cChina is concerned that in the future more of its important people abroad will be seen as a threat, and that their safety will become an issue.\u201d
\u201cOn the other hand, especially in the context of the comprehensive tension between Beijing and Washington, China has an interest to maintain and improve relations with other advanced industrial countries.
\u201cIf China takes a very strong revenge against Canada, it will hurt these relations. This is a dilemma, and it is difficult to predict what will happen.\u201d
Adam Austen, a spokesman for Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland, said Saturday there is \u201cnothing to add beyond what the minister said yesterday\u201d.
Freeland told reporters on Friday that the relationship with China was important and valued, and Canada\u2019s ambassador in Beijing has assured the Chinese that consular access will be provided to Meng.
A court hearing over whether Meng should be bailed will continue on Monday.
Reuters contributed to this report.<\/p>\n