VANCOUVER: A former Canadian diplomat has been detained in China, two sources said on Tuesday, just hours before a top executive at Chinese telecoms giant Huawei Technologies is set to return to a Vancouver courtroom for a bail hearing that has angered Beijing.

It was not immediately clear if the cases were related, but Canadian analysts had already predicted China would retaliate after the arrest of Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou at the request of US authorities.

The former diplomat is Michael Kovrig. He works for the International Crisis Group, which said it was seeking his prompt and safe release.

Canadian officials said they were not immediately able to confirm that Kovrig was in detention.

China’s Foreign Ministry and Ministry of Public Security did not respond immediately to questions faxed about Kovrig’s detention.

China has threatened severe consequences unless Canada releases Meng immediately. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the matter is one for the courts to decide.

Tuesday will be the third day of bail hearings in a British Columbia court, where a judge will weigh final issues in determining whether Meng should be freed on bail while awaiting extradition proceedings.

Canadian businesses operating in China are starting to feel the chill and the signing of one major deal has been postponed, a well-placed source said.

“The consequences have already begun,” said the source, noting that a Canadian firm had been due to ink a major agreement in the next few weeks.

“The local partner, a Chinese private sector actor, has told the Canadian partner that now is not a good time to sign,” said the source, who asked to remain anonymous given the sensitivity of the matter.

Meng, 46, faces US accusations that she misled multinational banks about Huawei’s control of a company operating in Iran, putting the banks at risk of violating US sanctions and incurring severe penalties, court documents said.

Speaking at a Beijing forum on Tuesday, the Chinese government’s top diplomat, State Councillor Wang Yi, said the government kept constant watch on the safety of citizens abroad, though did not directly mention Meng’s case.

“For any bullying that wantonly violates the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese citizens, China will never sit idly by,” state television quoted him as saying.

Published in Dawn, December 12th, 2018