China Releases Canadians Michael Spavor And Michael Kovrig.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said two Canadians had been released from Chinese custody and flown back to Canada.

Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig were charged with espionage in 2018 shortly after Canadian police arrested a top US CEO on US orders.

Huawei boss Meng Wangzhou left Canada today after a deal with US prosecutors. The arrests have fueled diplomatic tensions for years. Critics accuse China of detaining Canadians in retaliation for arresting Meng to use as political coins. Beijing vehemently denies this. Both men protest their innocence all the time. At a news conference, Trudeau said they had a "complicated ordeal."

"The good news from all of us is that they are on their way home to their families," he added. "In the past 1,000 days, they have demonstrated strength, durability, resilience, and elegance." The prime minister said the two men would arrive in Canada Saturday morning. 

Mr. Kovrig is a former diplomat of the International Crisis Group, a Brussels-based think tank. Mr. Spavor is the founder of an organization that promotes international business and cultural ties with North Korea. In August this year, a Chinese court sentenced Spavor to 11 years in prison for espionage. In Mr. Kovrig's case, there was no decision.

In a statement, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said his country was "delighted" by China's move but added that the men had suffered "more than two and a half years of arbitrary imprisonment." Earlier on Friday, a Canadian judge ordered Huawei's chief financial officer Meng Hangzhou to be released after agreeing with US prosecutors on fraud charges against him.

Before his arrest, US prosecutors accused Meng of fraud, accusing him of misleading banks into processing transactions for Huawei in violation of US sanctions on Iran. Under the pending prosecution agreement, Meng admitted to misleading HSBC about Huawei's ties to Skycom, a Hong Kong-based company operating in Iran.

The US Department of Justice said it was continuing preparations for a lawsuit against Huawei, which is still blocked for trade. Ms. Meng is the eldest daughter of billionaire Ren Zhengfei, who founded Huawei in 1987. She also served in the Chinese Army for nine years until 1983 and was a member of the Chinese Communist Party.

Huawei itself is now the largest telecommunications equipment manufacturer in the world. He is faced with accusations that Chinese authorities may be using his espionage equipment - a charge he denies. In 2019, the United States sanctioned Huawei and delisted it for exports, cutting it off-key technology.