Canada suspends commercial mission to China because of Huawei case

Vancouver, Dec 9 (Notimex).- The government of the Canadian province of British Columbia suspended a trade mission to China, due to the recent arrest in Vancouver of Wanzhou Meng, executive of the Huawei telecommunications company, which provoked warnings from the government of Beijing The financial executive of the telecommunications company Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. was arrested on December 1 at the request of the United States, which accuses her of fraud regarding the ban on trade with Iran. The arrest of the daughter of the founder of Huawei triggered a fall of the markets in Asia and Europe and an increase of tensions between China, Canada and the United States. This weekend, the Chinese government called the ambassadors of the United States and Canada to express their “strong protest” and warned to retaliate against what they consider an “extremely serious” act. The government of British Columbia, on the Canadian west coast, reported that its trade mission, led by provincial forestry minister Doug Donaldson, will no longer travel to China but will finish its commission in Japan. The Canadian trade delegation was focused on forest trade in Asia but will not go to Chinese territory due to recent events, the British Columbia government said in a statement, which assessed its “strong commercial relationship” with China. This Monday, Meng has a second hearing in a court in Vancouver where he will try to get out on bail. China has warned that if the executive is not released, Canada will face “serious consequences”. Countries such as the United States, Australia and New Zealand have announced that they will ban Huawei's products and services in the telecommunications of the 5G wireless network, considering that their phones can be used by the Chinese government to spy on their officials. NTX/I/II/LGS/BBF