Canada caught in the middle of US-China spat over Huawei executive
CNNOttawa CNN — The Chinese government is pushing Canada to release Meng Wanzhou, the Huawei chief financial officer detained for violating US sanctions on Iran, as Ottawa braces for relations with Beijing to worsen and urges President Donald Trump not to politicize the situation. ‘Mistakes’ “The Chinese side strongly urges Canada to immediately rectify its mistakes, and release the detained Chinese citizen and truly guarantee their relevant legal and just rights,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told reporters Sunday at a regular Ministry of Foreign Affairs briefing. “We strongly urge the US to revoke the relevant person’s arrest warrant immediately.” Trump told Reuters in an interview last week that he might intervene in Meng’s case if it would help the United States and China reach a trade deal. “China is clearly being impulsive here, they’re lashing out and they’re not interested in building any political capital with Canada,” said James Zimmerman, a partner with the law firm Perkins Cole who formerly represented a Canadian couple detained by Chinese authorities in 2014 accused of spying.