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Single legal case takes toll on two nations
- Relations between China and Canada have hit a new low since the US extradition request for Meng Wanzhou, and they are set to worsen in a fight neither wanted
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Rarely do the relations and welfare of two nations depend so much on the outcome of a single legal case against one person. Yet, the American extradition request for Huawei’s chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou has proven to be so for China and Canada.
Neither Beijing nor Ottawa wanted this fight. Wednesday’s ruling in Vancouver was the first opportunity for Meng and her legal team to have the case dismissed. As it was, the judge ruled against her and allowed the proceedings to continue. She is accused by American prosecutors of breaching sanctions imposed by the United States against Iran by committing bank fraud.
Her lawyers will have another opportunity to halt the proceedings in two weeks when the same court will decide whether her rights were violated during her arrest at the Vancouver airport 18 months ago.
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Much is at stake in this case, which has plunged relations between Canada and China to their lowest point in decades, perhaps ever.
For a time, China banned imports of meat and canola from Canada, a response which was widely perceived to be in retaliation for Meng’s detention.
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