Diplomatic row between China and the West comes to an end

C: https://thediplomat.com/

A diplomatic row between China and the West is about to end. This is coming after the release of the two Canadians who were held in China and a tech executive of China in Canada.

As per a US warrant, Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou got arrested in 2018. He left Canada on Friday in a deal along with a US prosecutor. Hours later, an announcement came that China had accused Michael Spavor and Michale Kovrig of espionage, who was flying back home to Canada.

Beijing has denied any kind of detaining of the Canadians in return for the arrest of Ms. Meng. But critics have accused the country of using it as a bargaining chip for politics.

PM Justin Trudeau said that those two men had maintained their innocence throughout. He further thinks that they have gone through an unbelievable ordeal.

“It is good news for all of us that they are on their way home to their families,” he added. “For the past 1,000 days, they have shown strength, perseverance, resilience, and grace.”

The PM said that both men would arrive in Canada on Saturday. Dominic Barton, Canada’s ambassador to China, will accompany them. Before the release of Ms. Meng, the daughter of Ren Zhengfei has also admitted misleading the investigators about the business dealing of Huawei in Iran.

She has spent the years under the order of house arrest in Canada. At the same time, she fought for extradition to the USA.

Mr. Kovrig is a former diplomat and an employee of the International Crisis Group. Mr. Spavor is also a founding member of an organization that performs international business and cultural ties with North Korea.

A Chinese court sentenced Mr. Spavor to 11 years of prison for espionage. There is still no decision in the case of Mr. Kovrig.

The US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that his country was quite pleased with the move of China. But he added that the men had already suffered more than two and a half years of arbitrary detention.

A Canadian judge has also ordered the release of Ms. Meng as she has reached a deal with a US prosecutor over the fraud charges that she received.

“Every cloud has a silver lining,” she continued. “I will never forget all the good wishes I received from people around the world.”

She is the elder daughter of Ren Zhengfei, who had set up the company in 1987. He has also served in the Chinese army for nine years. Huawei is the largest telecom equipment manufacturer in the world.

Credits: BBC

Henry Chan