China may have just 'strengthened its bargaining position' through 'hostage diplomacy'
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."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
![https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516-320-80.jpg)
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Brahma Chellaney, a prominent geostrategist, described China's "successful hostage diplomacy" as a "real shot in the arm" for President Xi Jinping and argued that the Biden administration had "vindicated" Beijing's "thuggish" detention of two innocent Canadians. Read more about how the situation could affect the Beijing-Washington relationship at The New York Times.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
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.
-
What could bring the US Steel-Nippon Steel merger back to life?
Today's Big Question President Trump opposed the deal. But he could be flexible.
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published
-
'Orange juice also is facing a grander existential problem'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
5 of the scariest spiders in existence
The Explainer These creepy crawlers can be deadly
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published
-
Federal judges block Trump citizenship order
Speed Read A second judge has blocked the president's order to end citizenship for children born on American soil to parents without legal status
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
DOGE official at Treasury resigns after racist posts
Speed Read Marko Elez's ability to access the Treasury's central government payment system has been rescinded
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
'Seriously, not literally': how should the world take Donald Trump?
White House rhetoric and reality look likely to become increasingly blurred
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
Trump orders ban on trans female athletes
speed read The order directs the federal government to withhold funding from schools that do not comply
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Musk's DOGE gains access to Medicare, eyes FAA
speed read The billionaire said his Department of Government Efficiency will make 'rapid safety upgrades' to our air traffic control systems
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Trump: US 'will take over' Gaza, without Palestinians
Speed Read President Trump has suggested the US take ownership of Gaza, permanently displacing more than two million Palestinian residents
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Democrats try to stop Trump's USAID closure
Speed Read Trump and Elon Musk are attempting to dismantle the US Agency for International Development, a move congressional Democrats say is illegal
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Trump tariffs on Canada, Mexico, China rattle markets
Speed read The tariffs on America's top three trading partners are expected to raise the prices of everything from gas and cars to tomatoes and tequila
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published