TORONTO, Dec 13: The latest on the frictions between Canada and China over the arrest of a top Chinese tech executive.
An official familiar with the matter says the Canadian man missing in China and feared detained is entrepreneur Michael Spavor.
Spavor is director of the Paektu Cultural Exchange and is one of the few Westerners to have ever met with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. He helped arrange a visit to North Korea by former NBA player Dennis Rodman.
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The official spoke Wednesday night on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly on the matter.
China has already detained a former Canadian diplomat in what appears to be retaliation for Canada's arrest of Meng Wanzhou, the chief financial officer of telecommunications giant Huawei.
Earlier Wednesday, Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland expressed concern that another Canadian may have also been taken into custody. The official says that person is Spavor.
The United States and China have taken pains this week to emphasize that their trade talks are entirely separate from the U.S. case against a top Chinese technology executive. But with a few words, President Donald Trump obliterated the distinction, saying he'd wade into the case if it would help produce a trade agreement with China.
China has already detained a former Canadian diplomat in what appears to be retaliation for Canada's arrest of Meng Wanzhou, the chief financial officer of telecommunications giant Huawei. On Wednesday, Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland expressed concern that another Canadian may have also been taken into custody.
A Canadian court on Tuesday released Meng on bail, confining her to Vancouver and its suburbs while she awaits possible extradition to the United States. The U.S. accuses Huawei, the biggest global supplier of network gear for phone and internet companies, of using a Hong Kong shell company to do business with Iran in violation of U.S. sanctions.
