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There’s little Canada can do on its own to win release for Spavor and Kovrig. The Liberal government has made great efforts, but justice has nothing to do with the case, which is all about China’s swollen sense of its place in the world, and its determination to use bullying tactics to get its way. The best chance of influencing Beijing’s Communist powers is to deploy pressure in equal or greater amounts, to the point it becomes in their interest to avoid embarrassment and end the confrontation.

It would make him look good, and there’s nothing Donald Trump treasures more than strutting around with something to boast about

Canada isn’t important or powerful enough to do this, but the U.S. is. It may be the only country still able to worry China to the point it stops acting so uncivilized.

After his session with Trudeau, Trump was more than happy to offer his help. He’s scheduled to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping at a Group of 20 gathering in Japan. Canada’s prime minister can’t even get Chinese leaders to return phone calls, much less rate a one-on-one with Xi. But Trump says he’s been accorded an “extended” get-together with Xi, as they have their own trade frictions to discuss, and promises he’ll absolutely raise the detention of Spavor and Kovrig during their talks.

“I’ll represent him well, I will tell you,” Trump said. “We’ll see what happens, but anything I can do to help Canada I will be doing … I would, at Justin’s request, I will actually bring it up.”

Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images

The world knows too well by now that when Donald Trump says something, the moment the words are out of his mouth, they cease to exist as matters of reliability. They certainly do not mean the president intends to follow whatever direction the words indicated. Or even that he remembers having said them.