Canada's top diplomat has praised Huawei CEO Ren Zhengfei for trusting the Canadian legal system as his daughter fights extradition to the United States.
Meng Wanzhou, also a Huawei executive, was arrested in Vancouver last month on a US warrant over Iran sanctions-linked fraud charges -- a move Chinese ambassador to Canada Lu Shayne branded "backstabbing" earlier in the day.
"I think those were very gracious comments he made," Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland said on Thursday. "I think it's very natural that he would be concerned about his daughter."
"And I was glad to hear directly from him that he feels his daughter has been treated fairly by the Canadian judicial system and with kindness, and certainly the objective of the Canadian government is that our judicial system should treat everyone impartially, fairly and indeed with kindness."
Former Canadian justice minister Irwin Cotler went further, accusing China in an email to The Canadian Press of "hostage diplomacy."
Freeland has called Beijing's recent behavior "a threat to all countries."