Ottawa (AFP)

The United States is supporting Canada in its efforts to end the "unacceptable" detention of two Canadians imprisoned in China following the arrest of a leader of Huawei in Vancouver, the chief of police said in Ottawa on Thursday. American diplomacy Mike Pompeo.

At a press conference with his Canadian counterpart Chrystia Freeland, the Secretary of State reaffirmed that his country was working behind the scenes for the release of former Canadian diplomat Michael Kovrig and fellow consultant Michael Spavor, arrested by China for espionage.

"The United States supports Canada in the face of China's arbitrary and unacceptable detention of Canadian citizens," he said.

"China must honor the commitments it has made to the world and that is what we expect from it," Pompeo told Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau earlier. "We are working diligently."

He was also grateful to Ms. Freeland for the arrest in Vancouver in early December of a leader of Chinese telecom giant Huawei, Meng Wanzhou, at the request of the United States, who is demanding his extradition.

The arrest sparked an unprecedented diplomatic crisis between Ottawa and Beijing.

But "the arbitrary detention of two Canadian citizens in China is fundamentally different from Canada's decision to use the law" to consider Huawei's request for extradition to the United States, he said. precise.

"Extradition is a criminal justice issue, it is not a political issue, Ms. Meng's case is currently before Canadian courts, as it should be," said Chrystia Freeland.

Mr. Pompeo denied the possibility of Meng Wanzhou being used as a "bargaining chip" in the trade dispute between Washington and Beijing.

After the outbreak of this case in late 2018, US President Donald Trump had hinted that he would be ready to intervene in the Meng Wanzhou case to facilitate negotiations on a trade deal with Beijing.

"This is a US Department of Justice legal proceeding against a person we think we have enough information to take back to the United States under the US agreement. and Canada, "said Pompeo.

The secretary of state traveled to Canada's capital on Thursday to meet with Trudeau and his Canadian counterpart to discuss the G7, trade between the two countries, and relations with China.

He also met with Canadian entrepreneurs, including the country's largest oilseed rape exporter, Richardson International, who saw his shipments shipped to China stranded at the border, officially because of the presence of "pests" in the grain.

Justin Trudeau warned on Wednesday that Canada will not "give in" against China, and once again called on the Chinese authorities to restrain the protesters in Hong Kong, even though Beijing has summoned Ottawa to stop "interfere" in Chinese internal affairs.

Beijing quickly responded to the Canadian Prime Minister, blaming Ottawa for the deterioration of China-Canada relations.

© 2019 AFP