WASHINGTON - British Columbia's trade delegation has canceled plans to visit China in the wake of rising tensions between Canada and China, which have arrested Huang Wei Woo, vice chairman of Huawei, a communications equipment company.

The mission, headed by British Columbia's Treasury Secretary, originally planned to visit China through Japan, but decided to wrap up the event in Japan.

In a statement from British Columbia, the cancellation of plans to visit China was "due to judicial procedures related to the ongoing vice-president".

The Associated Press reported that there is concern that China may detain a Canadian in retaliation for the arrest of vice-president of Canada.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry warned in a statement on Wednesday that the deputy foreign ministers of the foreign ministers will give a strong protest to the Canadian ambassador in Beijing, and that if there is no immediate release from the vice president, there will be a corresponding result.

"The Chinese government has warned that it will face" serious consequences "if it does not release Vice Vice President of Canada," the Associated Press reported.

Meanwhile, Hong Kong's South China Morning Post said that an e-mail sent to its employees on Monday by the world's leading IT company, Cisco, ordered it to refrain from unnecessary travel to China.