Canada squeezed between China, US after arrests

MONTREAL: The arrest of a top Chinese tech executive at the request of the US has snared Canada in the middle of a major international dispute involving Beijing and Washington.

Ottawa confirmed on Thursday that China had detained two Canadian nationals under what Beijing has said is suspicion of threatening its national security.

That came nearly two weeks after the arrest in Vancouver of Meng Wanzhou, the chief inancial oficer of telecoms giant Huawei, a move that infuriated Beijing.

The resulting crisis is to blame on “a trade war between China and the United States,” Fred Bild, a former Canadian diplomat and Asian studies professor at the University of Montreal, told AFP.

“Washington is using Canada in its trade battle with China,” he said.

The detention of the two Canadian nationals have fueled suspicions that China is retaliating against Canada’s arrest of Meng.

She was released on Can$10 million (US$7.5 million) bail by a court in Vancouver on Tuesday pending a US extradition hearing.

Beijing had warned of “grave consequences” if she was not immediately freed.

Bild points to the exceptional circumstances of her arrest, saying Washington has been content in the past to impose ines on foreign companies found guilty of violating US sanctions on Iran.

Meng faces up to 30 years in prison if convicted.

But US President Donald Trump said he could intervene in the US case against her if it helps seal a trade deal with China − statements that displeased Canada.