Espionage cases against Canadians not linked to Huawei CFO, says China

Chinese foreign ministry on Monday said the espionage cases against two Canadian citizens in the country are unrelated to the ongoing extradition case in Canada against Huawei senior executive Meng Wanzhou and called for Meng's release.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian made the remarks during a daily briefing.

"Meng Wanzhou's case is totally different from the case of Canadian citizens. Anyone without prejudice would know that clearly. The case of Meng Wanzhou is a very serious political issue," said Zhao.

Asked about Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau calling on China to end what he called "arbitrary detention" of Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, who were arrested in 2018 on state security charges, Zhao said there is no such thing as arbitrary detention in China.