During the two discussions, the official who spoke in the background stated that Trudeau mentioned the plight of two Canadians, Michael Cumming Kay and Michael Spavor, who were detained by Beijing in retaliation against China Telecom executive Meng. Wan Zhou was arrested.

Trudeau and Biden directly talked about the work being done to ensure their release. The official, who was not authorized to speak publicly, said that all leaders are discussing further and more extensively the ongoing detentions and the international solidarity that accompanies their trials.

Also discussed reopening the border

In addition, the Prime Minister and the President also talked about the steps that the two countries are considering cautiously and gradually reopening their borders.

This is the first time the two have met face-to-face since Biden was elected president in November last year, even though they had a virtual conversation.

The first and central challenge at the G7 leaders meeting held in Cabis Bay on the southwest coast of England was how to compete with Beijing’s increasingly active efforts to sign economic infrastructure projects with developing countries.

The Chinese government, known as the “One Belt One Road” initiative, has been providing funds for the construction of key infrastructure projects such as ports, railways, and airports in strategic locations around the world in order to expand its influence.

The United States is advocating a G7 initiative called “Rebuilding a Better World”, which is a global infrastructure plan, and the world’s major democracies will provide alternatives to the Chinese plan.

“When we came together on this partnership, our G7 partners agreed that our real purpose here is to prove that democracies and open societies can come together and make positive choices in response to our time. Some of the biggest challenges are not just for us people, but for people all over the world,” said a senior U.S. government official before the meeting on Saturday, who also spoke in the background.

After the morning meeting, the Canadian official briefed reporters traveling with Trudeau. He said that he had reached a broad consensus on China’s overall strategic policy.

However, the official tried to play down the sharper differences between the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada on the one hand and the somewhat indifferent European G7 members, some of whom have shown interest in China’s infrastructure projects.

The World Bank estimates that by 2035, developing countries will need a total of US$40 trillion in new and updated infrastructure.