U.S. President Donald Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau discussed the detention of two Canadian citizens by China during a phone call on Saturday (October 10). At the same time, China granted the Canadian Embassy in Beijing rare video access to the two Canadian citizens, who have been detained since late 2018.
Prime Minister Trudeau thanked President Trump over the phone for his support in “securing the immediate release of the two Canadian citizens arbitrarily detained by China,” according to an official statement released by the Canadian Prime Minister’s Office on Saturday. No details were provided in the statement, however.
Reuters reported Sunday that the White House had no immediate comment on the details of the call.
The Canadian government’s Department of Global Affairs said Saturday (Oct. 10) that Canadian Ambassador to China Donimic Barton had spoken by videotape to Canadian businessman Michael Spavor on Friday (Oct. 9) and to former Canadian diplomat Michael Kang on Saturday (Oct. 10). Kovrig), had consular access. This is the first time Canada has had the opportunity to visit the two men since January of this year.
A statement from the Canadian Prime Minister’s Office on Saturday also said Prime Minister Trudeau wished President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump well after their recent infection with the new coronavirus; Trudeau also mentioned Trump’s concern when his wife Sophie was diagnosed with the new coronavirus in March of this year. The two leaders also agreed to remain in close contact.
The U.S. and Canada are united in their demands for the release of the two Canadian citizens. Canada immediately demanded that China release Mingkai and Spavor after they were detained by China in Beijing in mid-December last year. The White House then said on Jan. 7 last year that the Chinese government had acted illegally in detaining them. At that time, Trump and Trudeau agreed in a phone call to continue to pursue the release of the two men.
Trudeau said in a phone call with President Trump last January that China was detaining the Canadians in apparent retaliation for Canada’s arrest of Meng Wanzhou. Beijing has consistently denied this and has expressed strong dissatisfaction with the Canadian court ruling that Meng had committed a crime, accusing Canada of helping the U.S. suppress Huawei and demanding Meng’s immediate release.
Canadian authorities detained Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou on December 1, 2018, based on a U.S. extradition request believed to be related to Huawei’s alleged violation of sanctions against Iran. Two weeks later, China arrested Kang Mingkai and Spavor in Beijing for “endangering national security. Tensions between Canada and China have been high ever since.
At the same time as these tensions between Canada and China, U.S. relations with China have been deteriorating rapidly. The United States and China have clashed over trade, human rights, science and technology, the Xinguan epidemic, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and China’s treatment of the Muslim minority in Xinjiang, among many other issues.
In particular, the United States has taken sanctions against China for imposing Hong Kong’s version of the National Security Law, including: the United States announced the suspension or termination of three bilateral agreements with Hong Kong, including the surrender of fugitives, the transfer of sentenced persons, and the mutual exemption of international shipping income taxes. In addition, the U.S. imposed sanctions on 11 government officials in Hong Kong and China, including Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor. Last month, Beijing and Washington also engaged in a tug-of-war over visas for journalists.
The U.S. termination of its extradition treaty with Hong Kong quickly reverberated internationally. On July 3, Canada said it joined the international community in expressing serious concern about China’s implementation of national security laws in Hong Kong. Prime Minister Trudeau also announced an immediate ban on the export of sensitive military items to Hong Kong.
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