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OTTAWA — Canada’s ambassador to China says he “misspoke” when he suggested detained Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou had a strong case to avoid extradition to the United States.

“I regret that my comments with respect to the legal proceedings of Ms. Meng have created confusion. I misspoke,” John McCallum said in a statement Thursday.

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“These comments do not accurately represent my position on this issue. As the government has consistently made clear, there has been no political involvement in this process.”

McCallum’s candid comments this week about the case of Huawei’s Meng raised eyebrows and fuelled speculation they were a political ploy to end Ottawa’s deepening diplomatic crisis with China.

In a Toronto-area news conference on Tuesday with Chinese-language journalists, McCallum said he thought Meng had strong legal arguments that could help her avoid extradition. He also listed several possibilities that could help her with her case.