Two Canadians detained in China on spying charges were released from prison and flown out of the country on Friday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said, just after a top executive of Chinese communications giant Huawei Technologies reached a deal with the US Justice Department over fraud charges and flew to China.
The frenetic chain of events involving the global powers
brought an abrupt end to legal and geopolitical wrangling that for the past
three years has roiled relations between Washington, Beijing and Ottawa.
The three-way deal enabled China and Canada to each bring
home their own detained citizens while the US wrapped up a criminal case
against a prominent tech executive that for months had been mired in an
extradition fight.
The first activity came Friday afternoon when Meng Wanzhou,
49, Huawei's chief finance officer and the daughter of the company's founder,
reached an agreement with federal prosecutors that called for fraud charges
against her to be dismissed next year and allowed for her to return to China
immediately.
As part of the deal, known as a deferred prosecution
agreement, she accepted responsibility for misrepresenting the company's
business dealings in Iran.
About an hour after Meng's plane left Canada for China,
Trudeau revealed that Canadians Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor were also on
their way home.
The men were arrested in China in December 2018, shortly
after Canada arrested Meng on a US extradition request. Many countries labelled
China's action hostage politics.
"These two men have been through an unbelievably
difficult ordeal. For the past 1,000 days, they have shown strength,
perseverance and grace and we are all inspired by that, Trudeau said.
The deal was reached as President Joe Biden and Chinese
counterpart Xi Jinping have sought to tamp down signs of public tension - even
as the world's two dominant economies are at odds on issues as diverse as
cybersecurity, climate change, human rights and trade and tariffs.
Biden said in an address before the UN General Assembly
earlier this week that he had no intention of starting a new Cold War, while Xi
told world leaders that disputes among countries need to be handled through
dialogue and cooperation.
The US Government stands with the international community in
welcoming the decision by People's Republic of China authorities to release
Canadian citizens Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig after more than
two-and-a-half years of arbitrary detention. We are pleased that they are
returning home to Canada, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a
statement.
As part of the deal with Meng, which was disclosed in
federal court in Brooklyn, the Justice Department agreed to dismiss the fraud
charges against her in December 2022 - exactly four years after her arrest -
provided that she complies with certain conditions, including not contesting
any of the government's factual allegations.
The Justice Department also agreed to drop its request that
Meng be extradited to the US, which she had vigorously challenged, ending a
process that prosecutors said could have persisted for months.
After appearing via videoconference for her New York
hearing, Meng made a brief court appearance in Vancouver, where she'd been out
on bail living in a multimillion-dollar mansion while the two Canadians were
held in Chinese prison cells where the lights were kept on 24 hours a day.
Outside the courtroom, Meng thanked the Canadian government
for upholding the rule of law, expressed gratitude to the Canadian people and
apologised "for the inconvenience I caused.
Over the last three years my life has been turned upside
down, she said.
It was a disruptive time for me as a mother, a wife and as a
company executive. But I believe every cloud has a silver lining. It really was
an invaluable experience in my life. I will never forget all the good wishes I
received.
Shortly afterward, Meng left on an Air China flight for
Shenzhen, China, the location of Huawei's headquarters.
Huawei is the biggest global supplier of network gear for
phone and internet companies. It has been a symbol of China's progress in
becoming a technological world power - and a subject of US security and law
enforcement concerns.
Some analysts say Chinese companies have flouted
international rules and norms and stolen technology.
The case against Meng stems from a January 2019 indictment
from the Trump administration Justice Department that accused Huawei of
stealing trade secrets and using a Hong Kong shell company called Skycom to
sell equipment to Iran in violation of US sanctions.
The indictment also charged Meng herself with committing
fraud by misleading the HSBC bank about the company's business dealings in
Iran.
The indictment came amid a broader Trump administration
crackdown against Huawei over US government concerns that the company's
products could facilitate Chinese spying.
The administration cut off Huawei's access to US components
and technology, including Google's music and other smartphone services, and
later barred vendors worldwide from using US technology to produce components
for Huawei.
The Biden White House, meanwhile, has kept up a hard line on
Huawei and other Chinese corporations whose technology is thought to pose
national security risks.
Huawei has repeatedly denied the US government's allegations
and security concerns about its products.
Meng had long fought the Justice Department's extradition
request, with her lawyers calling the case against her flawed and alleging that
she was being used as a bargaining chip in political gamesmanship.
They cited a 2018 interview in which then-President Donald
Trump said he'd be willing to intervene in the case if it would help secure a
trade deal with China or aid US security interests.
Last month, a Canadian judge held off on ruling whether Meng
should be extradited to the US after a Canadian Justice Department lawyer
wrapped up his case saying there was enough evidence to show she was dishonest
and deserved to stand trial in the US.
Comfort Ero, the interim Vice President of the International
Crisis Group, Kovrig's employer, said they have been waiting for more than
1,000 days for the news.
Michael Kovrig is free. To Beijing: We welcome this most
just decision. To Ottawa: Thank you for your steadfast support for our
colleague. To the United States: Thank you for your willingness to support an
ally and our colleague. To the inimitable, indefatigable, and inspiring Michael
Kovrig, welcome home! Ero said in a statement.