China may have just 'strengthened its bargaining position' through 'hostage diplomacy'

published 25 September 2021

China has continuously denied that two Canadian citizens it had held on espionage charges for nearly three years until Friday were hostages, but their quick release after a Huawei executive under arrest in Canada struck a deal with U.S. prosecutors, all but dispels that notion.

Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig were initially detained in 2018 just days after Vancouver police arrested Meng Wanzhou on a U.S. warrant following accusations that she misled investigators about Huawei's business dealings in Iran (she later admitted to doing so.) Now, everyone is back in their home countries, and it looks like Beijing may have come out on top in the standoff with Ottawa and Washington.

"In a sense, China has strengthened its bargaining position in future negotiations like this," Donald Clarke, a professor specializing in China at George Washington University's Law School, told The New York Times. He added that it should serve as a warning that Beijing is willing to be "boldly transactional with foreign nationals" and "if you give them what they want, they will deliver as agreed."

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Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.

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