China 'highly concerned' over businessman's arrest in Poland

China said Friday it was "highly concerned" by the arrest of a Chinese businessman over espionage allegations in Poland.

Poland announced the arrest earlier Friday, with local media identifying the man as a director of Chinese telecom giant Huawei. "China is highly concerned about this," the Chinese foreign ministry said in a faxed statement to AFP.

"We require relevant countries to handle relevant cases fairly and in accordance with the law, and earnestly safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of the person concerned," it said.

Huawei said in a brief statement that the company was "aware of the situation" and "looking into it" but had no further comment for now.

"Huawei complies with all applicable laws and regulations in the countries where it operates, and we require every employee to abide by the laws and regulations in the countries where they are based," the company said.

Polish special services said the Chinese man, along with a Polish man who was arrested with him, were suspected of having "worked for Chinese services and to the detriment of Poland".