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OTTAWA — Canada has asked the United States not to sign any final trade agreement with China until two Canadians detained in China have been released, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told a French-language TV network.

It has been more than a year since Beijing detained Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig in apparent retaliation for Canada’s arrest of a top Chinese tech executive, Meng Wanzhou.

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She was arrested last December at the request of U.S. authorities who want her on fraud charges. Just days later, Spavor and Kovrig were detained.

The two men were later charged with national security offences in what is widely believed to be an attempt to pressure Canada to release Meng, whose father is the founder of tech giant Huawei.

In an interview with TVA’s Salut Bonjour program aired Thursday, Trudeau outlined how Canada has asked the Trump administration to use ongoing trade talks with China as leverage in securing the release of the two Canadians.