China brands Canada ‘accomplice’ of US, as Huawei’s Meng Wanzhou loses bid to have extradition case thrown out
- Canadian judge rules that the US fraud charges against Meng satisfy the ‘double criminality’ rule, and her extradition case must continue
- China’s embassy blasts the ruling, accusing Canada of taking part in a ‘grave political incident’ and saying it should ‘not go further down the wrong path’
China has accused Canada of acting as an “accomplice” to the United States in a “grave political incident”, after a judge in Vancouver rejected a bid by Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou to have her US extradition case thrown out.
Justice Heather Holmes of British Columbia’s Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday that the US fraud charges against Meng satisfied the Canadian extradition requirement of “double criminality”, which demands that suspects be accused of something that would constitute a crime in Canada as well as in the requesting country.
The extradition case – which has thrown China’s relations with Canada and the US into turmoil – will therefore continue.
“On the question of law posed, I conclude that, as a matter of law, the double criminality requirement for extradition is capable of being met in this case,” Associate Chief Justice Holmes wrote in her judgment.
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Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou leaves Canadian court after legal setback
In a statement on social media, China’s embassy said: “China hereby expresses strong dissatisfaction and firm opposition to this decision, and has made serious representations with Canada.”
“The United States and Canada, by abusing their bilateral extradition treaty and arbitrarily taking forceful measures against Ms Meng Wanzhou, gravely violated the lawful rights and interests of the said Chinese citizen,” the statement said.