TORONTO: Canada said Friday it will allow the US extradition case against Chinese Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou to proceed.
Canadian Department of Justice officials issued a statement saying they diligently reviewed the evidence and the case can go ahead.
Meng is due in court on March 6, at which time a date for her extradition hearing will be set. The decision to proceed is a formality and allows a judge to hear arguments on whether to grant the US request.
Canada arrested the daughter of Huawei鈥檚 founder at the request of the US on Dec. 1 at Vancouver鈥檚 airport. Meng is wanted on fraud charges that she misled banks about the company鈥檚 business dealings in Iran.
鈥淭here is sufficient evidence to be put before an extradition judge for decision,鈥� the statement said.
The statement took pains to stress Canada is following its extradition laws. Ultimately, Canada鈥檚 justice minister must decide if Meng is extradited.
The case set off a diplomatic furor among the three countries, complicated high-stakes US-China trade talks and severely damaged Beijing鈥檚 relations with Ottawa.
China detained former Canadian diplomat Michael Kovrig and Canadian entrepreneur Michael Spavor on Dec. 10 in an apparent attempt to pressure Canada to release Meng. A Chinese court also sentenced a Canadian to death in a sudden retrial, overturning a 15-year prison term handed down earlier. Kovrig and Spavor haven鈥檛 had access to a lawyer since being arrested.
Meng is out on bail in Canada and living in one of her two Vancouver mansions awaiting extradition proceedings.
David Martin, Meng鈥檚 lawyer, said in a statement: 鈥淲e are disappointed that the Minister of Justice has decided to issue an Authority to Proceed in the face of the political nature of the US charges and where the President of the United States has repeatedly stated that he would interfere in Ms. Meng鈥檚 case if he thought it would assist the USnegotiations with China over a trade deal.鈥�
Martin also said the charges against Meng are not crimes in Canada and that his client maintains her innocence.
China鈥檚 embassy said it was 鈥渦tterly dissatisfied.鈥�
鈥淭his is not a merely judicial case, but a political persecution against a Chinese high-tech enterprise,鈥� the embassy said in a statement.
Huawei, the biggest global supplier of network gear for phone and Internet companies, is a focus of US security concerns. 
The US and China have tried to keep Meng鈥檚 case separate from their wider trade dispute, but President Donald Trump has undercut that intent, saying he would consider intervening in the case against Meng if it would be in the interest of US national security or help forge a trade deal with Beijing.
鈥淛udging from the obvious political interference presented on this case, if Canada really abides by the principle of rule of law and judiciary independence, the Canadian side should refuse the extradition request of the United States and immediately release Ms. Meng Wanzhou,鈥� the Chinese embassy added.
Guy Saint-Jacques, a former Canadian ambassador to China, said Chinese authorities are not interested in hearing about how Canada is bound by its extradition case with the US
Saint-Jacques said China might apply further pressure on Canada now.