A Canadian business professor says our country will 鈥渂e on the losing end鈥� of a dispute between China and the U.S. over the arrest of a prominent executive from Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 think, maybe, Canadians really appreciate鈥� (that) this company is their crown jewel of success,鈥� Ian Lee, an associate professor of management at Carleton University鈥檚 Sprott School of Business, told 麻豆传媒 Channel Saturday from Ottawa.
鈥淚t is their Google and Microsoft and Apple all rolled into one,鈥� he added. 鈥淚t was as if鈥� China had arrested the daughter or the widow of Steve Jobs from the Apple corporation.鈥�
On Dec. 1, Huawei chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou -- the daughter of the company鈥檚 politically-connected founder -- was detained in Vancouver at the behest of U.S. authorities, who want to see her extradited to their country to face fraud charges related to alleged violations of Iranian sanctions.
While Meng is currently out on $10-million bail, two prominent Canadians have subsequently been detained in China.
Lee, who has also spent more than two decades teaching in an MBA program in Shanghai, said there is 鈥渄eep anger in China鈥� over Meng鈥檚 arrest. More retaliation against Canada, he believes, could be coming unless the diplomatic spat is resolved.
鈥淭hey are not going to let go until they obtain the release of the CFO of Huawei,鈥� Lee said of the Chinese government. 鈥淚t will be relentless and they will continue to ratchet it up and we are going to be on the losing end of this.鈥�
Canadian businesses, he added, should be 鈥渧ery concerned鈥� about their prospects in China, which is Canada鈥檚 second largest trading partner after the U.S.
鈥淭here鈥檚 a very clear freeze on the Chinese side,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not going to be business as usual. It鈥檚 not going to be compartmentalized, to use that wonderful phrase. It鈥檚 going to be front and centre of Canadian-Chinese relations until we resolve it and until she is released into the hands of the Chinese authorities.鈥�
The only way to resolve the Meng case, Lee suggested, is through tripartite dialogue at the highest levels between Canada, China and the U.S.
鈥淚t affects the relationship between all three countries,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e鈥檝e got to engage in realpolitik diplomacy behind the scenes to find out whatever levers we have and legal levers we have to ensure that she can be released to the Chinese after the suitable face-saving announcements have been made by the three parties.鈥�
Lee warns that other Canadians in China -- particularly those with ties to the Canadian government -- could also be at risk of being detained if Meng is not released soon.
鈥淚 think that people that are diplomats or quasi-diplomats or former diplomats, maybe working with NGOs, are probably more vulnerable,鈥� than CEOs and business leaders, he said. 鈥淎nd we haven鈥檛 even looked at what the examined possible other forms of retaliation against Canada in terms of China鈥檚 response to us. So the game isn鈥檛 over. There鈥檚 more to come. 鈥�
