Beijing says Justin Trudeau’s plea to Washington to delay finalizing a trade deal with China until two Canadians have been released, is ”a waste of time” and ”doomed to fail.”

A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson says ”if you pull chestnuts out of the fire for others, you will end up being the one getting burned.”

(Associated Press)

Geng Shuang did not clarify if that was a threat, but warned that the prime minister’s move was tantamount to ”ganging up on China by forming cliques.”

Washington and Beijing agreed on the first phase of a trade deal December 13, but the ministry spokesperson does not say if the U.S. has appealed for the release of Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor.

(Kovrig and Spavor /Associated Press)

The Prime Minister’s Office says in a statement it had ”nothing to add” regarding if Trudeau had received any commitment from the White House. 

The two Michaels were taken into Chinese custody soon after Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou was arrested in Vancouver last December at the request of the U.S.