Canada’s arrest of Huawei exec an act of ‘backstabbing,’ Chinese ambassador says
Posted January 17, 2019 1:22 pm.
Last Updated January 17, 2019 1:32 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
OTTAWA – Chinese ambassador Lu Shaye says Canada’s arrest of a Huawei Technologies executive Meng Wanzhou was an act of “backstabbing” by a friend.
Lu warns of “repercussions” if Canada bars the firm from its new 5G network for security reasons, as have three of its intelligence-sharing allies.
In a rare interview with Canadian journalists, Lu also told Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to back off recruiting international support in Canada’s feud with China.
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He said it would be a bad idea for Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland to use the upcoming World Economic Forum summit in Davos to press that case.
Lu said economic relations between the two counties can be repaired and the current impasse could be resolved through negotiations.
But he defended the arrests of Canadians Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig in China and criticized Canada’s arrest of the telecommunications executive, saying Meng Wanzhou didn’t break any Canadian laws.