Two Canadians imprisoned by China have been released, Prime Minister Trudeau says - CNN

Former diplomat Kovrig and businessman Spavor had been held in China since late 2018.

However, China has consistently denied that the cases were in any way connected.

Earlier Friday, the United States Department of Justice and Meng reached an agreement to defer prosecution of US charges against her until late 2022, after which point the charges could be dropped.

Meng left Canada Friday on a flight for China chartered by the Chinese government, state-run news agency Xinhua reported.

Meng appeared virtually in a court in Brooklyn, New York, and pleaded not guilty to charges of conspiracy to commit bank fraud, bank fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and wire fraud.

However, as part of the deal, Meng confirmed the statement of facts in the deferred prosecution agreement are true.

Nine days later, Spavor and Kovrig were detained in China -- a move widely interpreted as political retaliation for her arrest.

Beijing has denied holding the two Canadians as political hostages, but their legal proceedings took place at critical times.