Advertisement
Huawei
ChinaDiplomacy

Chinese embassy says the US is trying to suppress Huawei with ‘typical bullying behaviour’

  • Diplomats in Canada hit back a day after US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo contrasted treatment of Meng Wanzhou with that of two Canadians ‘arbitrarily detained’ in China
  • Meng, a senior executive with the tech giant, is currently on bail in Vancouver where she is fighting extradition to the US

Reading Time:2 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
0
Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou was detained in Canada last year at the request of the United States. Photo: Reuters
Associated Press

China’s embassy in Canada accused the US of trying to suppress the Chinese tech giant Huawei with unwarranted charges in what it calls “typical bullying behaviour”.

An embassy statement to Associated Press on Friday said the arrest of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou in Canada at the request of US authorities was “of course different” from China’s detention of two Canadians Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor and accused the US and Canada of arbitrary detention.

“The Meng Wanzhou incident is not just a judicial case, but the US using state power to work with its certain ally to suppress a private hi-tech Chinese enterprise on unwarranted charges. This is a typical bullying behaviour,” the statement said.

During a visit to Ottawa on Thursday, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had said that the cases are “fundamentally different” because Meng was afforded due process in Canada and the cases involving the Canadians are human rights cases involving arbitrary detentions that have nothing to do with the rule of law.

Beijing detained Kovrig and Spavor on December 10 in an apparent attempt to pressure Canada to release Meng, the daughter of Huawei’s founder. They have since been charged with spying.

China threatened Canada with grave consequences after Meng was arrested at Vancouver’s airport on December 1 on behalf of the US, which wants her extradited on fraud charges.

Advertisement