OTTAWA -- Ambassador John McCallum said a prime ministerial phone call to Chinese President Xi Jinping is bound to happen in the ongoing Huawei dispute, but it鈥檚 the 鈥渓ast arrow鈥� in the government鈥檚 鈥渜uiver.鈥�

鈥淭he prime minister calling the president is essentially the last arrow in our quiver and I think other actions have to be taken first, because it is appropriate and right for him to do it at the right time,鈥� McCallum told reporters Friday.

鈥淎nd I鈥檓 sure he will,鈥� McCallum added.

He made the comments after providing the House of Commons foreign affairs committee with a closed-door briefing on the state of Canada-China relations.

Conservative foreign affairs critic Erin O鈥橳oole said the briefing gave him 鈥渘o sense of confidence that there鈥檚 a plan to resolve this.鈥�

鈥淚t is clear there has been no plan with respect to this dispute from the start, going back to last year. The government seems to be making it up as they go along,鈥� O鈥橳oole said.

Prime Minster Justin Trudeau has phoned multiple world leaders about the Canada-China dispute, including the United States, Singapore and Japan. The United Kingdom, France and Germany have also all expressed their support for Canada鈥檚 effort to secure the release of two detained Canadians.

The two Canadians, Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, were detained in apparent retaliation for the December arrest of Chinese telecom executive Meng Wanzhou. Canadian officials arrested Meng in response to an extradition order from the United States.

The dispute is showing no signs of slowing. On Thursday, Chinese ambassador Lu Shaye referred to the arrest of the Huawei executive as an act of 鈥渂ackstabbing.鈥�

The opposition continues to ask the prime minister to call Chinese leadership.

鈥淭hey don鈥檛 want to take the arrow out of the quiver until they can be guaranteed a bullseye. That鈥檚 what鈥檚 happening here 鈥� this dispute is getting worse. It鈥檚 clear Prime Minister Trudeau doesn鈥檛 want to get involved until he can have a photo op with resolution,鈥� O鈥橳oole said.

鈥淲e have a prime minister who won鈥檛 even pick up the phone.鈥�

Hundreds of Canadians detained in China

Speaking to reporters about the two detained Canadians on Friday, McCallum pointed out there are many other detained Canadians the government is currently working to help.

鈥淭here are other consular cases in China that are private, and I want to assure the families of those other consular cases that we are equally working on their situations,鈥� McCallum said.

鈥淚 want to assure them that their family members have not, in the slightest, been forgotten.鈥�

Global Affairs confirmed that there are 200 Canadians who have being detained in China with no marked increase or decrease in recent years.

O鈥橳oole suspected that some of these cases might be related to the dispute.

鈥淭here鈥檚 at least three Canadian citizens, we think with the visa situations there鈥檚 likely dozens more, that have been directly affected by [Trudeau鈥檚] failed measures with respect to diplomatic relations with China,鈥� O鈥橳oole said.

Global Affairs said the Canadians are detained for a variety of alleged infractions and continue to face ongoing legal proceedings.

One Canadian, Robert Schellenberg, saw his 15-year jail sentence upgraded to a death sentence in Chinese courts on Monday, prompting concern for Canadians in China with ongoing legal proceedings.

McCallum rules out China trade deal

McCallum also ruled out the idea of Canada striking a trade agreement with China anytime in the near future.

鈥淲e are certainly not negotiating free trade with China either before or after this problem, so it鈥檚 not on the table right now and it hasn鈥檛 been,鈥� McCallum said.

This is a change in tone from 2015.

The Liberal platform promised to expand export opportunities, specifically identifying the importance of exploring 鈥渄eeper trade relationships with emerging and established markets, including China and India.鈥�

Canada had previously launched exploratory talks towards a free-trade agreement with China. As recently as mid-November, International Trade Minister Jim Carr traveled to Beijing to broaden sector-by-sector trade relationships.

McCallum confirmed Friday that those talks never bloomed into formal negotiations 鈥� and likely will not anytime soon.