Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau meets with U.S. President Donald Trump at the G7 leaders summit in Quebec on June 8, 2018. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says his meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington on Thursday will be an opportunity to talk about China and global issues set to be discussed at next week's G20 in Osaka, Japan.
Image Credit: THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang
June 19, 2019 - 9:30 AM
OTTAWA - Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says his meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington on Thursday will be an opportunity to talk about China and global issues set for discussion at next week's G20 leaders' summit.
Talks among the leaders of the world's top economies will be held next week in Osaka, Japan, where themes will include the global economy, trade and investment and innovation.
Speaking outside his regular Liberal caucus meeting in Ottawa on Wednesday, Trudeau said he and Trump will spend time discussing the challenge China poses to global trade, as well as their countries and economies.
"We are going to make sure that we can work together to support each other and move together in the right way," he said.
The meeting with Trump on Thursday comes as Canada continues to call for China to release two Canadians whose detentions are widely viewed as retaliation for the arrest of a Huawei executive in Vancouver on an American extradition warrant. The U.S. wants Meng Wanzhou to stand trial on charges of fraud related to allegations she lied to U.S. banks to get around sanctions on Iran.
Countries including the U.S., Australia, France, Germany, Spain, and the U.K. have spoken out in support of the detained Canadians, Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig.
During a visit to Ottawa at the end of May, U.S. Vice President Mike Pence called for China to release Kovrig and Spavor from their "unlawful detention," adding Trump will push Chinese President Xi Jinping on the issue at the G20 meeting.
Trade will also be a big part of Trudeau's meeting with Trump as both countries look to ratify the new NAFTA, Trudeau said Wednesday. Trudeau is waiting for the trade deal to move through the U.S. Congress before putting it to a vote in the House of Commons.
"We are going to make sure we are keeping in step with them, we have an ability to recall Parliament if we need to," he said. "We will also make sure we are monitoring the pace at which the Americans are ratifying."
News from © The Canadian Press, 2019