BEIJING, Aug. 23 -- The United States and Canada have echoed each other, distorted facts and staged a political farce on the matter of a Huawei senior executive's detention, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said Friday.
The remarks came after U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland commented on the arrest of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou by Canada and the detention of two Canadians by China.
When meeting with the press on Thursday in Ottawa, Canada, Pompeo said that the "arbitrary detention" of two Canadian citizens in China was a "fundamentally different matter than the Canadian decision to apply the rule of law that's consistent with the way decent nations work."
The extradition of Meng is not a political matter, Freeland said.
Spokesperson Geng Shuang tore apart these remarks at a routine press briefing, saying the U.S. side trumped up Meng's case and resorted to state power to crack down on Chinese high-tech enterprises, while the Canadian side played an inglorious part in the process.
Meng's case is a serious political incident, while the two Canadians, Michael John Kovrig and Spavor Michael Peter Todd, were arrested on suspicion of crimes against state security, Geng said.
What the United States and Canada have done to Meng is true "arbitrary detention," he added, saying that out of pure political motivation, the two countries have abused the bilateral extradition treaty and severely violated a Chinese citizen's legitimate rights and interests.
Geng called on other countries to be vigilant to avoid falling into the "American trap."
He also urged Canada and the United States to earnestly deal with China's serious concern, correct its mistakes, release Meng immediately and let her return home safe and sound.
When meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Freeland on the same day, Pompeo said it is wrong that the two Canadians were being held and the U.S. side is focused on helping them be released.
Geng refuted Pompeo's remarks by stressing that China is a country under the rule of law, and that China's judicial organs handle cases independently and protect the legitimate rights of Canadian citizens in accordance with the law.
"The cases of Canadian citizens have nothing to do with the United States. The U.S. side is not entitled to make irresponsible remarks," Geng said.