Trudeau fires Canada's ambassador to China amid Huawei dispute

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in a statement Saturday that he had asked for and received the resignation of John McCallum, the country's ambassador to China, CBC reports.

The big picture: The firing comes at an unusually tense time in China-Canada relations, with the detention of Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou last month sparking what many believe to be retaliatory arrests of Canadian citizens by the Chinese government. Earlier this week, McCallum told reporters that it would be "great for Canada" if the U.S. dropped Meng's extradition request and listed arguments that could be used to bolster her case. McCallum was later forced to walk back the controversial comments.

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