Could release of 2 Michaels, Meng Wanzhou thaw Canada-China relations? Experts are mixed
Global News
Those experts warn the situation is not so simple, with many obstacles in the way of mending fences after years of frosty relations between the two countries.
The whiplash release of Canadians Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor from Chinese detention hours after Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou was allowed to return home could signal a new beginning in the Canada-China relationship, expert say.
But those experts warn the situation is not so simple, with many obstacles in the way of mending fences after years of frosty relations between the two countries.
“(The release of Kovrig and Spavor) is a good news story, and we should celebrate it as such,” said Yves Tiberghien, a political science professor at the University of British Columbia.
“There’s still a long road ahead, and where it gets complicated is addressing the rest of the relationship, which even after this is still very much a delicate situation.”
Meng, who was arrested at Vancouver’s airport in December 2018 at the request of the United States, was released from house arrest in Vancouver on Friday and returned home to China the same day after securing a deal to drop U.S. charges against her.
As part of the new deferred prosecution agreement, Meng plead not guilty to charges that she committed fraud by misleading the HSBC bank about the company’s business dealings in Iran.
Hours after Meng left Canada, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that Kovrig and Spavor were on their way home from China, where they had been detained for over 1,000 days on alleged espionage charges. Their arrest had come just days after Meng’s.
China has publicly maintained that there is no connection between Meng’s case and the men’s imprisonment. But Beijing has also dropped broad hints that if she were allowed to go free, that could benefit the two Canadians.