Justin Trudeau and Donald Trump discuss China’s ‘unlawful’ detention of two Canadians, agree to seek their release
- Canada’s Prime Minister and the US President also discussed the US extradition bid for Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou, who was arrested in Vancouver last month
- Trump and Trudeau ‘reaffirmed the importance of respecting judicial independence and the rule of law’
The leaders of Canada and the United States have agreed to continue pressing Beijing to free two Canadian citizens who were detained after the arrest of a senior Chinese executive in Vancouver, Ottawa said.
Canada wants the immediate release of Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, who were picked up after Canadian authorities arrested Huawei Technologies Co Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou on December 1 at the request of the United States.
China denounced the move, and the affair is threatening to increase global tensions at a time when Washington and Beijing are already locked in a trade war.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau spoke to US President Donald Trump on Monday and thanked him for “the strong statements of support by the United States” in response to the detentions of the two men, Trudeau’s office said in a statement.
“The two leaders agreed to continue to seek their release,” the statement said.
In a separate statement, the White House said that Trump and Trudeau “discussed the unlawful detention of two Canadian citizens in China.”
The White House hasn’t spoken publicly about the detained Canadians until now. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and a State Department spokesman previously called for their release.
Although Canada says China has made no specific link between the detentions and Meng’s arrest, experts and former diplomats say they have no doubt Beijing is using the cases of Kovrig and Spavor to pressure Ottawa.