A third Canadian citizen has been detained in China following the arrest of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou in Vancouver.

A spokesperson for Global Affairs Canada said on Tuesday that they are “aware of a Canadian citizen” who has been taken into custody in China.

An anonymous official later briefed that the department had "reason to believe that this case is linked to other recent cases of Canadians detained in China"

Nevertheless there was speculation that the move was retaliation for the arrest of Ms Meng, who is facing extradition to the US.

David Mulroney, a former ambassador to China, said it would be highly unusual if the third arrest was a coincidence.

"One detention is bad enough. Two is terrible. Three underlines how ruthless China can be," he told AFP.

Ms Meng's arrest has been seen as politically motivated as it comes amid hightened security tensions between the US and China, and accusations that Huawei is a vehicle for state spying.

Canada declined to name the latest person arrested or provide further details, citing a national privacy act.

However, the National Post, which first reported the story on Wednesday, cited third-party sources who apparently spoke to the family of the person arrested and confirmed they are neither a diplomat nor an entrepreneur working in China.