Canada, China trade barbs at UN General Assembly over 2 Michaels, Meng Wanzhou

Canada’s Foreign Affairs Minister Marc Garneau thanked international partners for supporting Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, drawing an angry response from China.

Canada and China were involved in a war of words at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on Monday over the detentions of their citizens who were released over the weekend in an apparent prisoner swap.

Speaking on the closing day of the 76th session of the UNGA in New York, Canada’s Foreign Affairs Minister Marc Garneau thanked international allies for their support in the case of Canadians Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, who returned to Canada after nearly three years in Chinese detention.

The announcement of their release by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday night came hours after a deferred prosecution agreement in the case of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou, who was accused of committing fraud in order to circumvent U.S. sanctions against Iran.

On Friday, a B.C. Supreme Court judge withdrew the U.S. extradition charge against her, allowing her to return home to China.

Garneau told the UNGA that Canada applied both Canadian and international law in response to the U.S. request for extradition of Meng, and that the “two Michaels,” as they are known, paid a “heavy price” for Canada’s commitment to the rule of law.

“We continue to oppose the way these two citizens were treated,” Garneau said, adding that Canada “will never forget this experience.”

China has long maintained that there is no connection between Meng’s case and that of Spavor and Kovrig, who were arrested over espionage charges just days after the Huawei executive’s apprehension.

Using the right to reply at the UNGA, a representative for China’s UN mission, speaking shortly after Garneau’s address, said Meng’s case is “completely different” to the Canadian men.