Pompeo condemns China's detention of 2 Canadians
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo condemned the arrest of two Canadians in China and called on Beijing to release them after a high stakes meeting Friday with his Canadian counterpart.
China detained two Canadians this week in apparent retaliation for the arrest of a top Chinese tech executive in Canada on behalf of the United States. The arrests escalated a dispute with China that threatens to further complicate ties between the North American neighbors.
"The unlawful detention of two Canadian citizens is unacceptable. They ought to be returned,' Pompeo said.
Pompeo and Defense Secretary Jim Mattis met their Canadian counterparts for discussions that were dominated by Canada's arrest of Meng Wanzhou, the chief financial officer of telecommunications giant Huawei.
Meng was picked up Dec. 1 at the request of the United States, which wants her extradited to face charges that she and her company misled banks about the company's business dealings in Iran.
The case has set off a three-way diplomatic furor in which Canada is stuck in the middle. The dispute threatens to complicate ties between the US and Canada, which were already testy.
A Canadian judge released Meng on bail Tuesday, causing some consternation in Washington. US President Donald Trump said he might intervene in the case if it would help clinch a trade agreement with China.
Trump has previously attacked Canada and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau over trade, and his suggestion that he could intervene contradicted Canadian officials who said the arrest was not political.
