Canada's Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland said Friday she had spoken to her Chinese counterpart in their first public meeting since the countries became embroiled in a diplomatic spat over two Canadians detained in China.
Freeland told reporters she brought up the arrests of Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor with Wang Yi during a meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in Thailand.
Their detention in December last year came amid a diplomatic crisis sparked by the arrest of Meng Wanzhou, chief financial officer for Chinese tech giant Huawei, in Vancouver on a US extradition bid.
"I took the opportunity to express Canada's concern over the case of Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor," Freeland said during a videoconference from Bangkok.
"The fact that we were able to speak and discuss these issues face-to-face directly with one another absolutely is a positive step."
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