A second Canadian man is feared detained in China in what appears to be retaliation for Canada's arrest of a top executive of telecommunications giant Huawei. The possible arrest raises the stakes in an international dispute that threatens relations.
Canada's Global Affairs department has said, Michael Spavor, an entrepreneur who is one of the only Westerners to have met North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, had gone missing in China.
Spavor's disappearance follows China's detention of a former Canadian diplomat in Beijing earlier this week. Its announcement came hours after Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland said she is worried another citizen had been detained in China following Monday's arrest of its former diplomat Michael Kovrig in Beijing.
At the root of the dispute is Canada's recent arrest of Meng Wanzhou, the chief financial officer of Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei, for possible extradition to the United States. However, a Canadian court on Tuesday released Meng on bail.
Analysts say, the detention of two of Canada's citizens reflects the bold approach to international disputes under President Xi Jinping, who has overseen a vast expansion of China's diplomatic, military and economic power. (AIR)