China has expressed a “strong dissatisfaction” with the Canadian prime minister after he criticized China for ordering death sentence to a Canadian man detained in China accused of drug trafficking.
According to The Guardians news reports, China strongly rebuked Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s criticism made on Monday, and China’s foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying on Tuesday said Trudeau should “respect the rule of law, respect China’s judicial sovereignty, correct mistakes and stop making irresponsible remarks”.
Chunying said: “We express our strong dissatisfaction with this.”
Canadian foreign minister Chrystia Freeland told reporters, “Canada’s position when it comes to the death penalty is consistent and very long-standing.”
Freeland further said, “We believe it is inhumane and inappropriate, and wherever the death penalty is considered with regard to a Canadian we speak out against it.”
Relations between both the countries – China and Canada – has turned icy since December, when Canada detained China’s Huawei tech’s chief executive officer (CFO) Meng Wanzhou, for extradition to the United States(US).
Critics say Beijing is using Schellenberg’s case to exert pressure on Ottawa. But analysts said they have found the dramatic deterioration in relations between two nations.
A political science professor at the University of British Columbia Michael Byers said, “I’m mystified by the lack of restraint in the Chinese response. It’s not what I would expect to have from such a serious strategic country, and the Chinese are highly strategic,” adding, “In this instance, it seems that are allowing anger to get the better of their strategic foresight.”
Recently, Trudeau has faced criticism from its oppositions for his unwillingness to directly hold face-to-face talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Byers said: “I think the avoidance of direct leader-to-leader is a good policy. We have diplomats for a reason and our embassy enables us to communicate messages – outside of the public spotlight.”