A Chinese executive who was due to appear on Thursday in a British court for possible extradition to the US is being hailed as a hero by Beijing’s state media and on the internet after he skipped bail and fled home to the southern province of Hunan.

The City of Westminster magistrates’ court said it had issued a warrant for the arrest of Yuan Hongwei, chairman of Chinese glue-maker MagPow Adhesive Industries, and seized his £100,000 ($196,000, €133,000) bail after he failed to appear for his extradition hearing.