US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Canadian Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland discussed the newly enacted Chinese law on national security in Hong Kong and the fate of two Canadians detained by Beijing, State Department spokesperson Morgan Ortagus said after the call on Tuesday
WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 08th July, 2020) US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Canadian Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland discussed the newly enacted Chinese law on national security in Hong Kong and the fate of two Canadians detained by Beijing, State Department spokesperson Morgan Ortagus said after the call on Tuesday.
"The two leaders... discussed shared concerns about Beijing's unjustified detention and charging of Canadian citizens Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig, as well as China's imposition of draconian national security legislation on Hong Kong," Ortagus said in a statement.
The United States and Canada have both condemned the new Chinese law and announced the suspension of deliveries of military products and goods of high strategic importance to Hong Kong. Beijing has said that it will take the appropriate countermeasures in response to any foreign interference in Hong Kong.
Canada and United States have also repeatedly called on Beijing to release Kovrig and Spavor, who have been charged with espionage. Canadian officials allege that the two were detained as a retaliatory measure for Canada's detention of Huawei Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou , who was detained in Canada in 2018 at the request of the United States. Meng is wanted by US authorities for her alleged role in violating sanctions against Iran.
The two officials also discussed the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) that went into force on July 1.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau spurred an invitation to attend the NAFTA 2.0 celebration in Washington on Wednesday reportedly over President Donald Trump's threats to re-impose tariffs.
