Chrystia Freeland said she and Wang Yi had a “frank exchange of views” in a meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in Bangkok. The two spoke about Canadians Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, who have been detained in China since December 2018, and Meng Wanzhou, the Huawei executive facing extradition proceedings in Vancouver. (CBC)

Talking point: Friday was the first meeting between the two foreign ministers since the three arrests last year. China previously rejected Canadian requests for talks, including Freeland’s attempt to speak with Wang in May, and a January request from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to arrange a call with Premier Li Keqiang. As recently as June, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson blamed Canada for the “the current setback [in] China-Canada relations,” and said releasing Meng was a condition of fixing the relationship. Direct contact between the two governments has grown more important as the U.S.-China trade war starts to escalate again. Since at least March, Canada has been asking the White House and senior members of Congress to intervene on its behalf over Spavor, Kovrig and several export bans. In June, U.S. President Donald Trump agreed to discuss Canada’s issues with China. But on Thursday, he tweeted plans to impose a new 10 per cent tariff on US$300 billion of Chinese imports, and Beijing has promised to retaliate.