A shot at hostage diplomacy with China backfires in Canada

OTTAWA - The letter circulated by Huawei Technologies was blunt. Canada was becoming dangerously entangled in the diplomatic feud between Washington and Beijing, it said, and there was only one answer: for Justin Trudeau's government to free the state-championed tech giant's chief financial officer and let her go back to China.

Mr Trudeau's latest approach is a break with his own policies, and those of past governments, that focused on courting stronger trade and commercial ties. 'WESTERN ENABLERS' The 19 signatories said they were writing to Mr Trudeau as Canadians deeply concerned about the survival of Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, detained just days after Meng's arrest in Vancouver on a US extradition request in December 2018.

In addition to locking up Kovrig and Spavor, China hit back economically after Meng's arrest, halting billions of dollars in agricultural imports from Canada. CHRETIEN CONFIDANTES To be sure, there's no evidence Huawei or the Chinese government had any hand in the missive to Mr Trudeau."There was absolutely no lobbying effort by Huawei or any other party directed towards me or, to my knowledge, towards any other signatory to the letter," he said in a written response to questions from Bloomberg.

Mr Manley is a director of Vancouver-based Telus Corp, which has lobbied the Mr Trudeau government to be allowed to use Huawei equipment in its networks.Mr Manley also said he has no commercial relationship with the Shenzhen-based company or the government in Beijing.

Singapore Latest News, Singapore Headlines

Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.

Canada not looking to impose China sanctions for now, seeks to avoid escalation: SourceCanada is not considering immediate sanctions against China over its treatment of Hong Kong and does not want to escalate a dispute between the ...
Source: ChannelNewsAsia - 🏆 6. / 66 Read more »

China starts taxing its citizens' global income for the first timeBEIJING (BLOOMBERG) - China has started tracking down some of its citizens living abroad to collect taxes, surprising expatriates who never had to pay levies back home on overseas income, according to people familiar with the matter.. Read more at straitstimes.com.
Source: The Straits Times - 🏆 8. / 63 Read more »

China rejects new US invite to join nuclear talksBEIJING (AFP) - China on Friday (July 10) rejected a new US invitation to join arms control talks with Russia, complaining that Washington had continued to 'pester' Beijing over the issue.. Read more at straitstimes.com.
Source: The Straits Times - 🏆 8. / 63 Read more »

Coronavirus: Women's tennis says no 'final decision' by China on cancelling eventsSHANGHAI (AFP) - Women's tennis officials are still hopeful of holding tournaments in China this year, despite authorities calling off most international sports events in 2020 because of the coronavirus.. Read more at straitstimes.com.
Source: The Straits Times - 🏆 8. / 63 Read more »

China floods blamed for fresh African swine fever outbreaksBEIJING (REUTERS) - Outbreaks of deadly African swine fever are surging in some parts of southern China following heavy rains, analysts and industry sources said, in what could be a big setback for Beijing's goal of replenishing pork supplies.. Read more at straitstimes.com.
Source: The Straits Times - 🏆 8. / 63 Read more »

Japan Display aims to bring some panel production back from China after coronavirusJapan Display Inc aims to bring some automotive panel production back to Japan after the novel coronavirus outbreak disrupted its supply chain in ...
Source: ChannelNewsAsia - 🏆 6. / 66 Read more »