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Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying did not mince words as she excoriated both Canada and the United States for what she called an arbitrary and unjust abuse of the extradition agreement between Canada and the U.S. that “infringes upon the security and legitimate rights and interests of Chinese citizens.”

Photo by THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Mark Schiefelbein

“Anyone with normal judgment can see that the Canadian side has made a serious mistake on this issue from the very beginning,” Hua said as she called on both countries to stand down.

“We all need to shoulder responsibility for what we do. The same is true for a country. Be it Canada or the U.S., they need to grasp the seriousness of the case and take measures to correct their mistakes.”

Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland, who is in Davos, Switzerland, for the World Economic Forum, described the case as a “criminal-justice matter exclusively” and denied any suggestion that Meng’s freedom could be used as a political bargaining chip.

“We would object very strongly to the notion that it is being politicized or used as political leverage in any way,” Freeland said in an interview with Bloomberg.

“I want to remind people that she’s out on bail right now, she owns some beautiful homes in Vancouver, and is there. She has had and will continue to have full access to the Canadian judicial system, which is impartial and objective.”

On Monday, some 140 international China experts — including five former Canadian ambassadors — wrote President Xi Jinping calling on him to free the two detained Canadians. The letter praises former diplomat Michael Kovrig and entrepreneur Michael Spavor as bridge-builders between China and the world, and said their detentions will make its authors “more cautious” about travelling to China.