Michael Kovrig, a former Canadian diplomat who currently works for the Brussels-based International Crisis Group, has reportedly been detained in China while working on a research project pertaining to North Korea.

Fears promptly arose that Kovrig was arrested in retaliation for Canada’s detention of Huawei Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou and her possible extradition to the United States.

The Canadian government expressed “concerns” about Kovrig’s detention but said on Tuesday it has “no explicit information” linking his plight to the arrest of Meng, wanted in the United States on charges of violating American sanctions against the government of Iran.

Meng, the daughter of Huawei’s founder and a member of the Chinese inner circle, was arrested at the Vancouver airport on December 1. A week later, the Chinese Foreign Ministry summoned Canada’s ambassador and warned of “grave consequences that the Canadian side should be held accountable for” if Meng was not immediately released.

The Wall Street Journal noted China has engaged in retaliatory arrests before:

“I am feeling very concerned today,” David Mulroney, a former Canadian ambassador in China from 2009 to 2012, said Tuesday. “I know the position he occupied” at Canada’s embassy in Beijing, “and I know he has a great reputation.” While Mr. Mulroney said he has no first-hand knowledge of Mr. Kovrig’s case, “it is not beyond the Chinese” to retaliate after Ms. Meng’s arrest. Mr. Mulroney cited China’s decision in 2014 to detain two Canadians involved in humanitarian work near the North Korea border, shortly after a Chinese national, Su Bin, was arrested in Canada and later extradited to the U.S. Mr. Su would eventually plead guilty to conspiring to hack and steal sensitive data from Boeing Co. and other U.S. defense contractors; the Canadians, Kevin and Julia Garratt, were released and returned to Canada.

“International Crisis Group is aware of reports that its North East Asia Senior Adviser, Michael Kovrig, has been detained in China. We are doing everything possible to secure additional information on Michael’s whereabouts as well as his prompt and safe release,” Korvig’s employer said in a statement quoted by Reuters, which noted the Chinese government has not responded to requests for comment on the case.

The Washington Post quoted Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stating on Tuesday that he is “aware of the Canadian detained in China” and promising his government is taking the case “very seriously.”

Soon after news of Korvig’s detention broke, the U.S. State Department reportedly began considering an advisory against travel to China by U.S. citizens. </s> A former Canadian diplomat has been detained in China, two sources said on Tuesday, and his current employer, the International Crisis Group, said it was seeking his prompt and safe release.

Michael Kovrig’s detention comes after police in Canada arrested the chief financial officer of China’s Huawei Technologies Co Ltd on Dec. 1 at the request of U.S. authorities, a move that infuriated Beijing.

READ MORE: Meng Wanzhou family photos hint at the Huawei CFO’s life in Vancouver

It was not immediately clear if the cases were related, but the arrest of Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou in Vancouver has stoked fears of reprisals against the foreign business community in China.

“International Crisis Group is aware of reports that its North East Asia Senior Adviser, Michael Kovrig, has been detained in China,” the think-tank said in a statement.

“We are doing everything possible to secure additional information on Michael’s whereabouts as well as his prompt and safe release,” it added.

China’s Foreign Ministry and Ministry of Public Security did not respond immediately to questions faxed earlier about Kovrig’s detention.

The exact reason for the detention was not immediately clear.

The Canadian embassy declined to comment, referring queries to Ottawa.

Calls to Kovrig’s phones were not answered.

Kovrig, a Mandarin speaker, has been working as a full-time expert for the International Crisis Group since February 2017. </s> Shanghai/Beijing: A former Canadian diplomat has been detained in China, two sources said on Tuesday, and his current employer, the International Crisis Group, said it was seeking his prompt and safe release.

Michael Kovrig's detention comes after police in Canada arrested the chief financial officer of China's Huawei Technologies on December 1 at the request of US authorities, a move that has infuriated Beijing.

It was not immediately clear if the cases were related, but the arrest of Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou in Vancouver has stoked fears of reprisals against the foreign business community in China.

"International Crisis Group is aware of reports that its North East Asia senior adviser, Michael Kovrig, has been detained in China," the think tank said in a statement. </s> TORONTO (AP) - A former Canadian diplomat reportedly has been arrested in China.

The International Crisis Group said Tuesday it’s aware of reports that its North East Asia senior adviser Michael Kovrig has been detained.

The Brussels-based non-governmental organization said in a statement that it’s doing everything possible to obtain additional information about Kovrig’s whereabouts and that it will work to ensure his prompt release.

The Globe and Mail in Toronto and the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. reported the arrest, citing unnamed sources.

Reports of Kovrig’s detention come after China warned Canada of consequences for its recent arrest of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou at Vancouver’s airport. It’s unclear if there’s any link between the cases.

The International Crisis Group said Kovrig has been one of its full-time experts since February 2017.

According to the organization’s website, Kovrig previously worked as a Canadian diplomat in Beijing and Hong Kong and at the United Nations.

Former Canadian Liberal leader Bob Rae said it’s clear why he’s been detained. </s> TORONTO (AP) — A former Canadian diplomat reportedly has been arrested in China.

The International Crisis Group said Tuesday it's aware of reports that its North East Asia senior adviser Michael Kovrig has been detained.

The Brussels-based non-governmental organization said in a statement that it's doing everything possible to obtain additional information about Kovrig's whereabouts and that it will work to ensure his prompt release.

The Globe and Mail in Toronto and the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. reported the arrest, citing unnamed sources.

Reports of Kovrig's detention come after China warned Canada of consequences for its recent arrest of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou at Vancouver's airport. It's unclear if there's any link between the cases.

The International Crisis Group said Kovrig has been one of its full-time experts since February 2017.

According to the organization's website, Kovrig previously worked as a Canadian diplomat in Beijing and Hong Kong and at the United Nations.

Former Canadian Liberal leader Bob Rae said it's clear why he's been detained. </s> TORONTO (AP) - A former Canadian diplomat reportedly has been arrested in China.

The International Crisis Group said Tuesday it's aware of reports that its North East Asia senior adviser Michael Kovrig has been detained.

The Brussels-based non-governmental organization said in a statement that it's doing everything possible to obtain additional information about Kovrig's whereabouts and that it will work to ensure his prompt release.

The Globe and Mail in Toronto and the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. reported the arrest, citing unnamed sources.

Reports of Kovrig's detention come after China warned Canada of consequences for its recent arrest of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou at Vancouver's airport. It's unclear if there's any link between the cases.

The International Crisis Group said Kovrig has been one of its full-time experts since February 2017.

According to the organization's website, Kovrig previously worked as a Canadian diplomat in Beijing and Hong Kong and at the United Nations.

Former Canadian Liberal leader Bob Rae said it's clear why he's been detained. </s> TORONTO — A former Canadian diplomat has been detained while visiting Beijing amid a dispute between the two counties over Canada’s arrest of a Chinese executive at the request of the United States.

Canadian Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale on Tuesday confirmed the detention and said Canada is very concerned.

Michael Kovrig, who previously was a diplomat in China and elsewhere, was taken into custody by the Beijing Bureau of Chinese State Security on Monday night during one of his regular visits to Beijing, said the International Crisis Group, for which Kovrig works as North East Asia adviser based in Hong Kong.

Rob Malley, president of the non-government organization, said Canadian consular officers had not been given access yet to Kovrig.

Malley said he thinks Kovrig was in Beijing on personal matters at the time of his arrest and was definitely not there for any illegal purpose or for any reason that would undermine Chinese national security.

“I don’t think he had any reason to feel endangered,” Malley said. “He loved China, which was why he decided to take a leave of absence from the foreign affairs ministry in order to remain in China.”

The Brussels-based group said it had not received any information about him since his arrest.

The detention came after China warned Canada of consequences for its recent arrest of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou at Vancouver’s airport. A Canadian judge granted Meng bail Tuesday while she awaits possible extradition to the U.S.

“We’re deeply concerned,” Goodale said in response to a question about Kovrig. “A Canadian is obviously in difficulty in China ... We are sparing no effort to do everything we possibly can to look after his safety.”

Goodale said there was no explicit indication at this point that it was related to the Meng arrest.

However, Guy Saint-Jacques, a former Canadian ambassador to China, said he had no doubt Kovrig was detained in relation to the arrest of the Huawei executive.

“In China there is no coincidence,” he said. “Unfortunately Canada is caught in the middle of this dispute between the U.S and China. Because China cannot kick the U.S. they turn to the next target.”

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Canada’s government has contacted Chinese officials about the detention. “We are engaged with the file (case), which we take very seriously,” he said.

The International Crisis Group said Kovrig has been one of its full-time experts since February 2017. Its website says Kovrig previously worked as a Canadian diplomat in Beijing and Hong Kong and at the United Nations.

Saint-Jacques, the former ambassador, said Kovrig was on leave from the embassy. He said Kovrig did deep political work when he was working for the embassy. That work would include travel and interviews with dissidents, he said.

“In China there’s a very line between espionage and political reporting,” he said.

Saint-Jacques said the department created a program 15 years ago so it would get more in-depth analysis. He noted that Kovrig was a former journalist whose embassy reports were well read in Ottawa.

Kovrig wrote on his LinkedIn profile that he had served as the political lead on a visit Trudeau made to Hong Kong in September 2016. He worked in Canada’s consulate-general in Hong Kong at the time.

Former Canadian Liberal Party leader Bob Rae said it was clear why Kovrig had been detained.

Roland Paris, a former foreign policy adviser to Trudeau, said Chinese “retaliation against Canadian interests or Canadians would be unacceptable and pointless.”

“It would have zero impact on judicial proceedings in Canada,” Paris tweeted. “Beijing should already know this from previous experience. Let cooler heads prevail.”

Jorge Guajardo, Mexico’s former ambassador to China, said Canada needs to take dramatic action.

“I’d be summoning the entire Canadian consular Corp in China home for training. If that means they can’t issue visas in the meantime, certainly the Chinese would understand. These are special times,” he tweeted.

Hu Xijin, editor in chief of China’s state-run newspaper Global Times, wrote on Chinese microblogging platform Weibo that there isn’t any evidence Kovrig’s detention was retaliation for Meng’s arrest. But he added that the current situation was “highly sensitive” because of a “American-Canadian conspiracy” to arrest Meng.

“If people in the rest of the world make this association, it’s because Meng Wanzhou’s arrest was really way over the line. Naturally, people would think that China would take revenge,” Hu said.

Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. </s> A former Canadian diplomat has been detained in China, two sources said on Tuesday, just hours before a top executive at Chinese telecoms giant Technologies was set to return to a Vancouver courtroom for a bail hearing that has angered Beijing.

It was not immediately clear if the cases were related, but Canadian analysts had already predicted China would retaliate after the arrest of CFO at the request of US authorities. The former diplomat is Michael Kovrig. He works for the Crisis Group, which said it was seeking his prompt and safe release.

Canadian officials said they were not immediately able to confirm that Kovrig was in detention. China's Foreign Ministry and Ministry of Public Security did not respond immediately to questions faxed about Kovrig's detention.

China has threatened severe consequences unless Canada releases Meng immediately. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the matter is one for the courts to decide.

Tuesday will be the third day of bail hearings in a British Columbia court, where a judge will weigh final issues in determining whether Meng should be freed on bail while awaiting extradition proceedings.

Canadian businesses operating in China are starting to feel the chill and the signing of one major deal has been postponed, a well-placed source said. </s> The Latest: Canada raises detention of citizen with China

TORONTO (AP) — The Latest on the detention of a former Canadian diplomat in China (all times local):

Canada's Global Affairs Department says it's aware of the detention of a Canadian citizen in China and has raised the case with the Chinese government.

The department says in a statement it is "seized with this case" and is providing consular assistance to the family of the Canadian. It declined to say more or state his name.

But a person familiar with the matter says former diplomat Michael Kovrig was detained Monday night in Beijing during one of his regular visits to the city. The person spoke on condition of anonymity for lack of authorization to speak publicly on the matter.

The detention follows Chinese warnings to Canada of consequences for its recent arrest of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou at Vancouver's airport.

Canada's public safety minister says the government is deeply concerned about a Canadian detained in China — confirming that a former Canadian diplomat is being held in Beijing amid a dispute between the two counties over Canada's arrest of a Chinese executive.

Minister Ralph Goodale said Tuesday the government is sparing no effort to look after the Canadian's safety. The comment came in response to a question about reports that former diplomat Michael Kovrig had been arrested in China, though he did not mention him by name.

The detention follows Chinese warnings to Canada of consequences for its recent arrest of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou at Vancouver's airport.

Goodale said there is no explicit indication at this point that the cases are related and he said Canada is working to determine why he was detained.

A former Canadian diplomat has been detained while visiting Beijing.

A person familiar with the matter says Michael Kovrig was detained Monday night in Beijing during one of his regular visits to the city. The person spoke on condition of anonymity for lack of authorization to speak publicly on the matter.

The International Crisis Group said earlier Tuesday it was aware of reports that its North East Asia senior adviser has been detained. The Hong Kong-based Kovrig had served as the political lead for Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's trip to that city in 2016.

The Brussels-based non-governmental organization said in a statement that it's doing everything possible to obtain additional information about Kovrig's whereabouts and that it will work to ensure his prompt release.

The detention comes after China warned Canada of consequences for its recent arrest of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou at Vancouver's airport. It's unclear if there's any link between the cases.

The International Crisis Group said Kovrig has been one of its full-time experts since February 2017.
International Crisis Group confirm one of it's worker Michael Kovrig is detained in People's Republic of China. Kovrig is a former Canadian diplomat and his detainment come after the China warned Canada of severe consequences if Meng was not released.