CANADA (REUTERS) - United States Vice-President Mike Pence and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Thursday (May 30) in Ottawa urged China to release the two Canadian men who were arrested and charged with espionage after Canadian authorities arrested Meng Wanzhou, the chief financial officer of Huawei, the world's largest telecoms network gear maker, on a US warrant in December.

The US Vice-President thanked Canada for standing up for the rule of law when it detained Meng, who is the daughter of Huawei's founder.

He also said they discussed the arrest of the two Canadians extensively, and that US President Donald Trump will speak with Chinese President Xi Jinping about them at the Group of 20 meeting in Japan at the end of June.

"We're going to continue to urge China to release the Canadian citizens even while we deal with the larger economic and structural issues," Mr Pence said.

Washington has accused Huawei of being tied to China's government, and has effectively banned US firms from doing business with the company for national security reasons.