Canada’s ambassador to China has sought to retract comments suggesting politics would play a role in the potential extradition to the United States of Huawei executive Sabrina Meng Wanzhou, adding another setback to weeks of tension between the two countries. John McCallum said in a statement on Thursday that he “misspoke” earlier this week when he discussed the case of Huawei’s chief financial officer Meng. On Tuesday, he had said she had “strong arguments” to avoid extradition, in part because US President Donald Trump had discussed the case. Those comments contradicted weeks of assurances from Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau that the process was in the hands of Canada’s court system. “I regret that my comments with respect to the legal proceedings of Ms Meng have created confusion. I misspoke,” McCallum said in the statement. “As the government has consistently made clear, there has been no political involvement in this process.” In ‘mind-boggling’ remarks, Canada’s ambassador to China John McCallum says Huawei’s Meng Wanzhou has ‘strong case’ against extradition Trudeau earlier on Thursday brushed off calls from Canada’s main opposition party leader for McCallum’s removal, saying that such a step would do nothing to secure the release of two Canadians who were detained in China after the Huawei arrest. Canada is also seeking clemency for a third citizen who was sentenced to death in China, with China rejecting international pressure to intervene while suggesting Canadian politicians also have the power to free Meng because she has committed no crime in Canada. Trump has said he would consider intervening in Meng’s case if it meant reaching a better trade deal with China. McCallum’s statement on Thursday returned to the message that “Canada is conducting a fair, unbiased and transparent legal proceeding with respect to Meng Wanzhou”, and that “Canada respects its international legal commitments, including by honouring its extradition treaty with the United States”. Huawei: Was Canadian ambassador John McCallum trying to defuse Beijing’s anger when he said Meng Wanzhou had ‘strong case’ against extradition? The US has until January 30 to present a formal request for extradition. Meng has been released on bail and is living at home in Vancouver. McCallum made the earlier comments near Toronto on Tuesday, largely with Chinese-language media, and was expected to return to China soon afterwards. He also said Meng could defend herself because of the “extraterritorial aspect to her case” and because Canada did not “sign on” to US sanctions against Iran that she may have violated. What Canada’s courts must do next in extradition case of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou The Huawei case also has an economic dimension for Canada that has strained relations with the world’s second-largest economy. Canada is reviewing whether to ban Huawei from its next-generation 5G wireless network, a move already taken or under consideration by some allies. Ward Elcock, a former head of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, said on Thursday that he believed Huawei posed a risk to Canada’s 5G network because of China’s ability to “direct” the company. “It’s not so much that Huawei poses a risk, it’s that China poses a risk in terms of its worldwide intelligence collection,” Elcock said. “[China] would have the capacity to ask and demand from Huawei assistance in collecting intelligence, and the Chinese are big collectors.”