China on Tuesday demanded that the US drop a request that Canada extradite Huawei Technologies Co chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou (孟晚舟), shifting blame to Washington in a case that has severely damaged Beijing’s relations with Ottawa.
Meng’s case was out of the ordinary and Canada’s extradition treaty with the US infringes on the “safety and legitimate rights and interests of Chinese citizens,” Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Hua Chunying (華春瑩) said.
China demands that the US withdraw the arrest warrant against Meng and “not make a formal extradition request to the Canadian side,” Hua added.
Hua’s remarks came after more than 100 academics and former diplomats signed a letter calling on China to release two Canadians detained in apparent retaliation for Meng’s arrest.
The letter signed by more than 20 diplomats from seven countries and more than 100 academics from 19 countries said that the arrests would lead to “less dialogue and greater distrust, and undermine efforts to manage disagreements and identify common ground.”
They also follow a report by the Canadian newspaper Globe and Mail that the US plans to formally request Meng’s extradition to face charges that she committed fraud by misleading banks about Huawei’s business dealings in Iran.
The US Department of Justice said it is continuing to pursue Meng’s extradition and would meet any deadlines set under the US-Canada extradition treaty.
In a statement, the department thanked Canadian authorities for their “support in our mutual efforts to enforce the rule of law.”
The US and other Western countries have broader fears that Huawei technology could let the Chinese government listen in.
Huawei chairman Howard Liang (梁華) said that critics need to back up their allegations.
“If they believe there’s a backdoor, they should offer evidence to prove it,” he told reporters on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
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