Trudeau Says China's Relationship With West 'In Play' Over Detained Canadians

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Friday that Beijing's relationship with the Western world is at stake over the detention of two Canadians charged with espionage in China and other alleged instances of coercive diplomacy

TORONTO (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 19th March, 2021) Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Friday that Beijing's relationship with the Western world is at stake over the detention of two Canadians charged with espionage in China and other alleged instances of coercive diplomacy.

The trials of former diplomat Michael Kovrig and businessman Michael Spavor began earlier on Friday in the Chinese city of Dandong, where the Intermediate People's Court did not deliver a verdict in the latter's case.

"China needs to understand that it is not just about two Canadians, it is about the respect for the rule of law and relationships with a broad range of Western countries that is at play with the arbitrary detention and the coercive diplomacy they have engaged in," Trudeau told reporters.

During the press briefing, the Prime Minister reiterated Ottawa's position that the charges against the two Canadians were fraudulently concocted by Beijing and slammed China for a lack of transparency in the legal process. Canadian diplomatic officials were barred from the hearings, which proceeded behind closed doors because of the national security implications of the case.

Trudeau commended diplomats from allied countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia, that showed up at the court building in Dandong.

The Prime Minister could not confirm that the fate of the "two Michaels" - as the pair is referred to at home - would be raised during the US-China talks in Anchorage, Alaska, but noted that the United States continues to "prioritize" their case.

Trudeau also responded to China's embassy in Ottawa, which called Canada hypocritical and arrogant for insisting on transparency in the case of the two Canadians and deeming it to be arbitrary despite the ongoing extradition process against Huawei Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou. The Prime Minister insisted that Canada is a country with the rule of law and that the legal process against Huawei executive has been fully transparent.

Trudeau added that the fairness of the trial will be difficult to judge, considering the lack of transparency.

The arrests of Meng and the two Canadian nationals, along with Ottawa's condemnation of Beijing's national security law implemented in Hong Kong and alleged human rights abuses in Xinjiang province, has led to a deterioration of relations between China and Canada.

Both nations view the detention of their nationals by the other as political incidents. However, Chinese officials have said that Canada's deference to US foreign policy served as a catalyst for the growing diplomatic rift.

Kovrig will be in court on Monday for his first hearing. Meanwhile, the extradition proceedings against Meng will continue in British Columbia's Supreme Court later in the day.