MNI BRIEF: China Envoy Cautions Canada On Huawei And Olympics

China's ambassador to Canada on Tuesday suggested any Canadian decision to join its allies with a ban on Huawei telecommunications gear or any Olympic boycott would hurt political and trade relations, and would be bending to U.S. political pressure.

Canada should follow the principle of "mutual respect and equal treatment" Cong Peiwu, said during an online talk hosted by the CIGI think-tank. Canada's arrest of a Huawei executive under a U.S. warrant who was later freed shows that undermining this idea will make "our relationship suffer," he said. China was accused of arbitrary detention of two Canadians, later freed around the time the Huawei executive was released.

Huawei equipment isn't a security threat as evidenced by its use in many other nations, he said, and some "want to abuse and overstretch the concept of national security" and the security threat idea is "invented by the United States." The U.S. is also playing "political games" with the Olympics, he said.