China is suspending all meat imports from Canada amid its dispute over the Canadian detention of a top executive of Huawei Technologies Co Ltd (華為).
The Chinese embassy in Ottawa on Tuesday said in a statement on its Web site that the move follows Chinese customs inspectors’ detection of residue from a restricted feed additive, called ractopamine, in a batch of Canadian pork products.
It is permitted in Canada, but banned in China.
“China has taken urgent preventive measures and requested the Canadian government to suspend the issuance of certificates for meat exported to China,” the embassy’s statement said.
Meng Wanzhou (孟晚舟), Huawei chief financial officer and daughter of the company’s founder, Ren Zhengfei (任正非), was arrested on Dec. 1 last year in Canada at the request of US authorities, who want to try her on fraud charges.
China then detained two Canadians and sentenced another to death in an apparent attempt to pressure for her release.
The latest action against Canada comes as Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau heads to Japan for a G20 summit.
US President Donald Trump is expected to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) in Osaka on the sidelines of the summit.
Before acting against Canadian meat, China previously stopped importing certain Canadian products like canola.
Justine Lesage, a spokeswoman for Canada’s agriculture minister, said in a statement that the Canadian Food Inspection Agency identified an issue involving inauthentic export certificates that could affect the export of the country’s pork and beef products to China.
The agency has “taken measures to address this issue and is continuing to work closely with industry partners and Chinese officials,” she said.
“The Canadian food system is one of the best in the world and we are confident in the safety of Canadian products and Canadian exports,” she added.
Last year, Canada’s shipments of pork to China were worth about C$500 million (US$379.9 million).
Former Canadian ambassador to China Guy Saint-Jacques said that Beijing is clearly putting additional pressure on Canada.
“It is quite disturbing,” said Saint-Jacques, who estimated Canada’s meat exports to China this year would exceed C$1 billion.
If someone in Canada falsified documents under this kind of scrutiny from the Chinese, it needs to be investigated, he said.
“In normal times this would not happen, but in these times, China gives Canada no leeway,” Saint-Jacques said.
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