VANCOUVER—Outrage from media outlets closely aligned with Beijing over the dismissal of John McCallum reveals that the Canadian ambassador was viewed as an asset by the Communist Party of China, says one foreign policy expert.

Missives in the Global Times and China Daily — news organizations with ties to the Chinese state — depict McCallum’s exit as confirmation of the illegitimacy of Canada’s legal process, explained James Palmer, an editor at the magazine Foreign Policy and a former editor at Global Times from 2009 to 2016. He was also a resident of China for 15 years.

“They clearly saw McCallum as an asset,” Palmer said in an interview. “So there is a sense of damage or loss, there.”

McCallum was dismissed from his post for suggesting, among other things, that it would be “great for Canada” if the U.S. drops its request to extradite Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou and that any deal between the U.S. and China to do so should include the release of two Canadians detained in China.

Meng was arrested in Vancouver on Dec. 1, pending an extradition hearing on allegations of fraud related to violations of U.S. trade sanctions against Iran. Criminal charges relating to national security were expected to be announced by the United States Department of Justice on Monday afternoon, likely to do with Huawei and the pending extradition of Meng.

McCallum had initially been forced to walk back comments that Meng’s legal counsel had good reason to argue the charges against her were politically motivated. The message was a stark break from the line previously held by Canadian officials, who almost unanimously stood by the legal process as legitimate and independent.

Read more:

U.S. unveils 23 criminal charges against China’s Huawei as Ottawa fights to free two Canadians detained by Beijing in retaliation

What’s at stake for Trudeau, Canada and Huawei

China repeats demand for Huawei executive’s release as Ottawa seeks replacement for McCallum

McCallum announced his resignation on Saturday after repeating the comments — even after his initial retraction — to The Star.

This series of events was seized upon by pro-Communist Party of China media outlets to fuel speculation Meng is being used as a pawn in a trade war between the United States and China.

“McCallum was merely stating the truth when he observed that Meng has a strong case against extradition, which he rightly said was politically motivated,” reads an unattributed Sunday editorial from China Daily.

The Global Times — a tabloid-style publication aimed at “scoring points” by trolling with “playground insults,” according to Palmer — framed McCallum’s resignation as evidence of “political interference” in the ongoing saga of Meng Wanzhou.

Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading...

“Ottawa is now as sensitive as a frightened bird,” reads an unattributed editorial, published online Sunday.

“What happened to the ‘legal state’? The only explanation lies probably in a guilty conscience. Ottawa has recognized clearly that arresting Meng was against the basic legal spirit.”

With files from Michael Mui

Read more about: