Freeland thanks U.S. lawmakers for bipartisan support
Senate committee commends Canada in arrest of Huawei exec
Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland applauded Friday a bipartisan U.S. political effort backing Canada in its fight with China over its detention of Huawei’s chief financial officer.
Freeland’s remarks — in an email to The Canadian Press — came hours after Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told a Beijing news conference his country would take “all necessary measures” to defend Chinese companies and citizens abroad against “deliberate po- litical suppression.”
The latest round in Canada’s diplomatic dispute with China came as a new poll was released Friday by the University of British Columbia that cast new light on the deterioration of Sino-Canadian relations since the Meng affair.
Meng is wanted in the U.S. on fraud related charges in connection with violating sanctions on Iran — allegations China angrily dismisses as a politically motivated attack.
The U.S. Senate foreign-relations committee introduced a measure this week that commends Canada for arresting Meng Wanzhou in Vancouver to fulfil a U.S. extradition request.
The joint Republican and Democratic effort recognizes Canada for upholding the rule of law and expresses concern over actions by China in response to the U.S. request. It calls on China to release Canadians Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig, who were jailed by Beijing authorities following Meng’s arrest.
“Canada appreciates these bipartisan efforts in the U.S. Senate to pass a resolution echoing our call for the release of Mr. Spavor and Mr. Kovrig and recognizing Canada’s respect for the rule of law,” Freeland said.
Freeland also noted that Canada appreciates the support of Australia, the European Union, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Spain, the Czech Republic, Denmark and NATO, “who have spoken in support of these detained Canadians and the rule of law.”
Freeland has been working behind the scenes with American lawmakers to court their support for the resolution, say sources familiar with her efforts, but who were not authorized to speak for attribution about them due to the sensitivity of the situation. Last month, Freeland lobbied Republican Sen. Lindsay Graham at the Munich security conference, and she pressed the issue with Democratic lawmakers as well, sources say.
“Canada has provided consular access and due process for Ms. Meng. It is only right for the Senate to join Canada in expressing concern over arbitrary detention and mistreatment of Canadian nationals by the Chinese government,” said Republican Sen. Jim Risch, the chair of the committee.
The Chinese ambassador to Canada has warned the Trudeau government not to court international support against it, saying that would only worsen tensions. Freeland responded to the American support after a visibly angry Wang gave a defiant answer at a Beijing press conference about Huawei.
“Recent actions against specific Chinese enterprises and individuals are not simply judicial cases, but deliberate political suppression,” China’s foreign minister said.