CANADA IS LEANING ON THE UNITED STATES.
Canada is leaning on the United States to help settle a dispute with China, which has started to block imports of vital Canadian commodities amid a dispute over a detained Huawei executive. In a sign of increasing frustration at what it sees as a lackluster U.S. response, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau`s government is signaling it could withhold cooperation on major issues.
China has upped the pressure on Canada in recent weeks over the arrest of Huawei Technologies Co Ltd Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou, arrested last December on a U.S. warrant. With no cards to play against China without risking significant economic damage, Canada has launched a full-court press in Washington, which is negotiating its own trade deal with Beijing.
"It`s a very challenging situation. When we raise it with the Americans they just say, `Dealing with the Chinese is tough`," said a Canadian government source. "It`s also not clear who we should be targeting since you never know who is up and who is down in the administration at any given point," said the source, who requested anonymity given the sensitivity of the matter.
Canada says the United States is obliged to help, given that the U.S. arrest warrant triggered the crisis with Beijing. U.S. negotiators have rejected Chinese proposals to include the Huawei issue in their current trade deal discussions, according to a source familiar with the negotiations.
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