Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor are free: What does this mean for Canada-China relations?

Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, the two Canadian men taken into custody almost three years ago by China's communist regime, are on home soil after the legal dispute involving Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou was partly resolved by U.S. prosecutors.

Shortly after his late Friday announcement that Kovrig and Spavor had been set free by Chinese authorities, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Foreign Affairs Minister Marc Garneau boarded an overnight flight on a government jet to greet the two returning men on the Calgary airport tarmac.

A government official with direct knowledge of the situation said the delegation was "very inspired by the resilience" of the two Michaels and the "really remarkable" happy ending to a situation that looked grim only days ago.

The two men were in good spirits, at times even joking, as Trudeau and Garneau welcomed them and Canada's ambassador to China, Dominic Barton, back home after the gruelling ordeal, the source said. After cups of coffee and other light refreshments in an airport hangar, Spavor stayed on in Calgary while Kovrig boarded another flight destined for Toronto to reunite with his family.

The timing of Kovrig and Spavor's release belies Beijing's claim that their 2018 arrests were somehow unrelated to the Meng affair, experts said. The co-ordinated release makes it plain that the two men, once accused of espionage by Beijing, were detained as retribution for Meng's arrest on U.S. fraud charges.

Speaking to reporters Friday, Trudeau dodged questions about how the case, and the release, has affected Canada's relationship with China, saying "there is going to be time for reflection and analysis in the coming days and weeks."

But China watchers say this incident has irreparably damaged Canada's relations with the Asian superpower — souring bilateral ties that looked to be on the up and up only four years ago when Trudeau tried to pursue some sort of trade agreement with the regime.