Rod Rosenstein, the US deputy attorney-general, criticised China’s “transactional approach to the law,” in a speech on Monday, days after President Donald Trump raised the possibility of dropping charges against Huawei as part of a trade agreement.
The outgoing number two official at the Department of Justice told a conference in Washington, DC, that countries like China used the law “instrumentally as either a weapon or a shield,” whereas the US respected “neutral legal principles and processes”.
In his comments on Monday, Mr Rosenstein made pointed reference to a 2014 case where a Chinese national was arrested in Canada and extradited to the US to face charges.