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Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says his priority is the safe return of two Canadians detained in China.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Friday he would not comment on reports that the United States is negotiating a “deal” to allow Huawei’s CFO Meng Wanzhou to return to China in exchange for admitting some wrongdoing.
Canadian authorities detained Meng in 2018 after the United States requested her extradition on allegations that the Chinese telecommunications company executive committed bank and cable fraud and violated US sanctions against Iran, which she denies.
On Thursday, the Wall Street Journal reported that Meng’s attorneys had spoken with US Department of Justice officials about the possibility of reaching a “deferred prosecution agreement.”
The Reuters news agency also said those discussions had accelerated after last month’s US presidential elections.
“I’m not going to comment on those reports,” Trudeau told reporters during a news conference in Ottawa on Friday.
“Canadians know well that our top priority is the safe return of the two Michaels,” he said, referring to businessman Michael Spavnor and former diplomat Michael Kovring, Canadian citizens who were detained in China shortly after Meng’s arrest.
The Chinese authorities accused Spavnor and Koening of espionage, an accusation they deny.
The case has strained relations between China and Canada, with government officials in Ottawa and Beijing engaged in a war of words over the past two years.
In June, Trudeau criticized China for what he said was the “political” detention of Spavnor and Koening, and has repeatedly said that his government will not shy away from criticizing China for its human rights record.
“This use of arbitrary detentions as a means of promoting political achievement is something that is totally unacceptable in a rules-based world,” Trudeau said at the time.
Meanwhile, China has warned Canada not to meddle in its internal affairs.
Meng’s extradition case is currently underway at the British Columbia Supreme Court in Vancouver, on the west coast of Canada, where he is under house arrest.
She is due to return to court on Monday.
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