BEIJING - China’s foreign ministry said on Monday that Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s sacking of his ambassador to China was an internal Canadian affair, after the envoy prompted a furor with comments about a high-profile extradition case.
John McCallum had embarrassed Trudeau’s government by saying Huawei Technologies Co Ltd Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou could make a strong argument against being sent to the United States.
Meng, the daughter of Huawei’s founder, was arrested in Vancouver last month, at the request of U.S. authorities who suspect she violated U.S. sanctions on Iran.
China subsequently detained two Canadian citizens on national security grounds. A Chinese court later retried a Canadian man who had been jailed for drugs smuggling and sentenced him to death.
“The matter you have mentioned is an internal affair for Canada. China will not comment,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang told a daily news briefing in Beijing. Geng reiterated China’s call for Canada to “make the correct choice” and release Meng so she could return to China. She was granted bail 10 days after her arrest. (Reuters)