In an Oval Office meeting last month with Trudeau, Trump said he would raise the plight of Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor in his planned meeting with Xi, as a favour to Canada. “I would like to caution the Canadian side against being too naive,” Geng told reporters after he was asked at a Beijing briefing whether Trump raised the matter with Xi. “First, it shouldn’t be so naive as to believe that asking its so-called ally to pressure China will work. “Second, it shouldn’t be so naive as to believe that its so-called ally will earnestly pursue a Canadian agenda. The matter is, after all, between China and Canada.” Geng reiterated the Chinese view that Canada is solely responsible for the current degeneration of relations between the two countries.

Source: thestar July 03, 2019 17:48 UTC