China challenges Trump with pressure on Australia and Canada

By Tom Rogan

Published June 19, 2020 8:20pm ET

China challenges Trump with pressure on Australia and Canada — China said Tuesday it would take unspecified countermeasures after the US imposed tariffs on $200 billion worth of its exports, raising the prospect of a full-blown trade war. | (AP)

China is challenging the Trump administration by escalating its pressure campaign against two of America’s closest allies.

On Friday, Beijing charged two Canadians it has unjustly held since December 2018, Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, with espionage offenses. Kovrig and Spavor were arrested just days after Canada detained a Huawei executive, Meng Wanzhou, on a U.S. arrest warrant. That executive is now battling extradition in the Canadian courts.