China has arrested a second Canadian national in what seems likely to be further retaliation for the detention of a top Chinese telecoms executive in Vancouver.
The Canadian foreign ministry identified the man as Michael Spavor, a high-profile entrepreneur who has longstanding ties with North Korea and was instrumental in bringing NBA star Dennis Rodman to meet Kim Jong-un in 2013.
A Chinese government website said Mr Spavor was being investigated on suspicion of “harming China’s national security”, without giving further details.
Earlier this week, China also detained the former Canadian diplomat Michael Kovrig in Beijing, in what appeared to be a tit-for-tat response to the arrest of Huawei’s chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou for possible extradition to the US.
The US accuses Huawei of using a Hong Kong shell company to do business with Iran, in violation of American sanctions. Ms Meng was released on bail on Tuesday, but has been ordered to stay in Vancouver to await an extradition decision.
Before news emerged of Mr Spavor’s disappearance, the editor of China’s state-controlled Global Times newspaper said in a video that Canada “must do more to restore [Meng’s] freedom and put an end to this incident”.
“Otherwise, China will definitely take retaliatory measures against Canada,” Hu Xijin said. Referring to the former diplomat Mr Kovrig, he added: “I personally believe that if Canada extradites Meng to the US, China’s revenge will be far worse than detaining a Canadian.”
A spokesperson for Canada’s foreign ministry, Guillaume Berube, said: “We have been unable to make contact [with Spavor] since he let us know he was being questioned by Chinese authorities.
“We are working very hard to ascertain his whereabouts and we continue to raise this with the Chinese government.”
Mr Spavor is a fluent Korean speaker and one of the only Westerners ever to meet North Korea’s leader Mr Kim.
His company, Paektu Cultural Exchange, has organised a number of tours and joint cultural projects with North Korea. He had been due to arrive in Seoul on Monday but did not show up, acquaintances told the Associated Press.
China is not alone in fairly openly linking the various detentions to an ongoing wider trade war between it and the US.
Although officials in North America have been at pains to state that Ms Meng’s arrest had nothing to do with US-China relations, President Donald Trump undid all their work in a single sentence during a Reuters interview, saying he'd wade into the case if it would help produce a trade agreement with China.
"If I think it's good for what will be certainly the largest trade deal ever made — which is a very important thing — what's good for national security — I would certainly intervene if I thought it was necessary," Trump told Reuters in an interview.
The comment suggests Ms Meng could be a political pawn in negotiations and makes things more awkward for Canada, which arrested her on America's behalf during a layover at Vancouver airport on 1 December.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau bristled at Mr Trump's assertion, saying: "Regardless of what goes on in other countries, Canada is, and will always remain, a country of the rule of law."
And foreign minister Chrystia Freeland suggested Mr Trump’s comment could impact the court’s decision on whether to send Ms Meng to the US. She said it was “quite obvious” any foreign country requesting extradition should ensure “the process is not politicised”.
