Could Americans be next after China detains Canadian and Australian citizens?
- Analysts question whether Chinese government is willing to risk America’s anger by detaining its citizens, but may be using Canada as a proxy
- The West is increasingly concerned about possible ‘hostage diplomacy’ – a practice Beijing has denied
The recent high-profile detentions of Canadian and Australian citizens has raised concerns in the West that China is practising a form of “hostage diplomacy”.
But despite the current trade war with the US and a number of strategic tensions, American citizens have so far not been targeted – raising questions about whether China is reluctant to antagonise Washington in the same manner.
The detention of former Chinese diplomat Yang Hengjun, now an Australian citizen, this week intensified concerns in the West that Beijing will detain foreign nationals to retaliate against their governments.
Two Canadians, the former diplomat Michael Kovrig and the businessman Michael Spavor, have also been held on the same “national security” charges used against Yang.
Ottawa fears that these detentions might be linked to the arrest of Sabrina Meng Wanzhou, a senior executive with the Chinese tech giant Huawei, following an extradition request from the United States, which has accused her of fraud relating to sanctions on Iran.
Beijing has denied practising hostage diplomacy, and experts remain divided about whether Yang’s case is linked to the detention of the two Canadians.