By Kanishka Singh
(Reuters) – China’s ambassador to Canada, Cong Peiwu, in office since 2019, has left his post and returned to China, a source familiar with the matter said on Sunday, the news emerging during a visit by a senior Canadian diplomat in Asia. nation.
Further details about why he left his post were not immediately available. The Chinese embassy in Ottawa did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
China’s Foreign Ministry said earlier that Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu spoke with Canadian Deputy Foreign Minister David Morrison and the two discussed “China-Canada relations and other matters of mutual interest and concern.
The Chinese ambassador’s departure was first reported by the Globe and Mail. Cong’s appointment ended on April 9 and surprised some members of the diplomatic corps because of its abruptness, the newspaper said, citing sources.
Relations between Ottawa and Beijing have been strained since 2018, when Canadian police arrested Meng Wanzhou, chief financial officer of Chinese telecommunications equipment giant Huawei Technologies, on a US arrest warrant. Later, Canadians Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig were arrested by China.
China had detained the two Canadians for more than 1,000 days, a move that was at the center of Ottawa and Washington’s dispute with Beijing. The men were released in 2021 on the same day the U.S. Department of Justice dropped its extradition request for Meng and she returned to China.
Beijing and Ottawa are also at odds over other issues such as China’s national security law in Hong Kong, which Canada has condemned, and China’s alleged interference in Canadian elections, suspicions that China denies and that Canadian government agencies are investigating.
(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington; Editing by Josie Kao)
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