27 january

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has fired his country's ambassador to China, John McCallum.

It follows controversial comments McCallum made over the possible extradition of Chinese tech giant Huawei's executive, Meng Wangzhou. Trudeau said in a statement on Saturday that he asked for and accepted McCallum's resignation, but did not give any reasons.

McCallum has been under fire for his comments mainly to Chinese media on Tuesday in Toronto. He was referring to a remark US President Donald Trump made last month about Meng who was arrested in Canada at the request of the United States. Trump indicated he is prepared to intervene in Meng's case if it serves the interests of US trade and security.

McCallum called Trump's comments an attempt to politicize the case, and that Meng has good arguments against being extradited. McCallum later apologized, saying he "misspoke," after being heavily criticized for threatening his country's judicial independence. The US Justice Department is expected to file a formal request for Meng's extradition by Wednesday. Once it is filed, Canadian authorities will start legal procedures to determine whether to hand her over to US authorities.

Although Trudeau did not give the exact reason for McCallum's dismissal, Canadian media is reporting government concerns over the possible worsening of the relationship with the United States.—NHK