Canada–China relations
[3] Relations between the Canadian and Chinese governments have deteriorated significantly in recent years, particularly during the tenures of CCP general secretary Xi Jinping and U.S. President Donald Trump.Senior figures in government like International Trade Minister Roy MacLaren were convinced that Canada needed to diversify away from the United States and so adopted a "Four Pillars Policy.""[citation needed] For example, the Harper government awarded an honorary Canadian citizenship to the Dalai Lama and criticized China's human rights record, accusing it of commercial espionage.[21] Burton's report, commissioned by the Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs, was entitled Assessment of the Canada-China Bilateral Human Rights Dialogue[22] and released in an unclassified public version in April, 2006.Before a bilateral meeting with Harper in Beijing, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao suggested that too long a time had elapsed without a visit to China by a Canadian prime minister.[33] In July 2012,[34] the proposed $15.1 billion takeover of Alberta-based petroleum producer Nexen by the Chinese State Owned Enterprise (SOE) CNOOC "really spooked" western members of the Conservative Party of Canada including Harper, who was the MP of a Calgary riding.[36] Former diplomat Charles Burton, presented as a critic of the government policy as the treaty talks were revealed, said in a New York Times account:[36] We don't seem to have the linguistic and cultural expertise and political knowledge to defend our interests against a very sophisticated diplomatic engagement by China, which seems to always come out on top.In January 2017, a rumoured treaty with China appeared in the press to extend rights to Chinese investors, including SOEs, to sue the government, just as is allowed by Chapter 11 of NAFTA."[45] In May 2018, the Trudeau government blocked the sale of the construction company that built the CN Tower, Aecon, to a Chinese state-owned enterprise (SOE), CCCC International Holding (CCCI), for $1.5 billion.In stark contrast to Roy MacLaren, Charles Burton stated:[16] The assumption was that as China developed and became more integrated into the global economy, [it] would come into compliance with international norms of trade and diplomacy.That has proven not to be the case.On the 70th anniversary of the People's Republic of China, the Chinese military was engaged in a display of power, and Canadian Defence Minister Harjit Singh Sajjan attended a Vancouver soiree to celebrate the event.[55] On December 1, 2018, the chief financial officer of Huawei's deputy chair and CFO Meng Wanzhou was arrested in Vancouver at an extradition request by US authorities on suspicion of violating US sanctions against Iran.[69][70] On December 12, the Chinese Communist Party-run tabloid newspaper Global Times warned that "if Canada extradites Meng to the U.S., China's revenge will be far worse than detaining a Canadian.While Canada was merely responding to an arrest warrant issued by a court in New York State, China had not taken steps against Americans because it "wants to improve its relations with the U.S.," a much larger trading partner, according to Nelson Wiseman, a political science professor at the University of Toronto."[75] The situation was complicated by Trump's suggestion that he might allow Meng to be released as part of the negotiation for improved trade relations with China, which left Canada in an awkward position."[77] Several political analysts agreed that Canada was caught in the middle[78] Of China, and Christopher Sands, of the School of Advanced International Studies in Washington, DC, said that "in normal times, the U.S. sends a signal, usually discreetly, to allies to cut it out and play nice."British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said that the United Kingdom believed that Canada was conducting "a fair and transparent legal proceeding" of Meng: "I am deeply concerned by suggestions of a political motivation for the detention of two Canadian citizens by the Chinese government.Prime Minister Trudeau rejected the call saying, "We will continue to remain steadfast and strong and say very clearly in our actions and in our words that randomly arresting Canadians doesn't give you leverage over the government of Canada anywhere in the world.[90] On 8 August 2019, the Canadian government issued a travel advisory for Hong Kong that recommended people to exercise a "high degree of caution" because protests and mass demonstrations there might suddenly become violent and can spring up "with little or no notice.... Acts of violence occur, especially at night.[95][96] During the first week of June 2020, a Parliamentarian from each of Canada, the UK, Australia and New Zealand wrote to UN Secretary-General António Guterres to request that the United Nations Human Rights Council act to send a Special Envoy to Hong Kong, and thereby to safeguard the Sino-British Joint Declaration over the territory, especially Annex I Article XIII, and to remind him of collective responsibility to enforce international treaties lodged with the UN.The four were at the time Chairs of their respective parliamentary Foreign Affairs select committees: Michael Levitt, Tom Tugendhat, David Fawcett and Simon O'Connor.[97] On 6 October 2020, a group of 39 countries, including Canada, the U.S., most of the EU member states, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Albania, Australia, New Zealand, Haiti, Honduras, and Japan, made a statement at the United Nations to denounce China for its treatment of ethnic minorities and for curtailing freedoms in Hong Kong.It would be folly to give the authoritarian regime even the potential of building a back door into networks that drive our cars, host high-level cabinet meetings and transmit government and corporate secrets.[105] On 15 July 2019, the UN ambassadors from 22 nations, including Canada, signed a joint letter to the UNHRC to condemn China's mistreatment of the Uyghurs and other minority groups and to urge the Chinese government to close the Xinjiang internment camps.[113] In the first week of June 2020, legislators from nine global parliaments—Canada, United States, Britain, Japan, the European Union, Germany, Australia, Norway and Sweden—formed the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC).[116] In late 2022, Global News reported on a suspected attempt by the PRC to infiltrate the Parliament of Canada by funding a network of candidates to run in the country's 2019 and 2021 federal elections.[131] In 1968, the government of Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau initiated negotiations with the People's Republic of China that led to the establishment of diplomatic relations on October 13, 1970.In 1994 Canada established its four-pillar policy on China: economic partnership; sustainable development; human rights, good governance and the rule of law; and peace and security.The following year Premier Li Peng visited Canada to commemorate the 25th anniversary of bilateral relations and attended Canada-China Business Council annual general meeting in Montreal.Chrétien was accompanied by close to 600 business participants, eight provincial premiers, three territorial leaders, Minister for International Trade Pierre Pettigrew and Secretary of State (Asia-Pacific) Rey Pagtakhan.[141] This was exacerbated in December 2018 by Canada's arrest of Huawei Technologies' Chief Financial Officer, Meng Wanzhou, based on a warrant issued by a court in New York state and the subsequent detention of two Canadians living in China.
List of ambassadors of Canada to ChinaCanadaEmbassy of China, OttawaEmbassy of China in CanadaRepublic of ChinaChinese Civil WarPeople's Republic of ChinaPierre TrudeauCCP general secretaryXi JinpingU.S. PresidentDonald Trumpoppression of Uyghurs in Chinaespionage and intimidation activitiesChinese governmentanti-China sentimentSecond Cold WarCanada–Taiwan relationsJohn K. LawsonSai Wan War CemeteryBritish EmpireCommonwealth of NationsStatute of Westminster 1931Hong KongBattle of Hong KongJapanese Imperial Armyatomic bombings of Hiroshima and NagasakiChongqingNanjingsocialist governmentLiberalCanadian federal election of 1949chargé d'affairesCanadian Department of External AffairsKorean WarUnited NationsCanadian Prime MinisterMao ZedongCultural RevolutionChinese PremierCommunistParliament of CanadaTiananmen Square crackdownMulroney governmentJean ChretienAllan RockAndré OuelletMutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters Act (Canada)BeijingRoy MacLarenWorld Trade Organizationrule of lawHuman rightsJiang ZeminMemorandums of UnderstandingGerard KennedyDalai LamaStephen Harperhonorary Canadian citizenshipcommercial espionageChinese leaderHu JintaoBeijing OlympicsBrock Universityleaked US diplomatic cablesglobal recessionHarper governmentStockwell DayLawrence CannonJohn BairdYang JiechiJim FlahertyShanghaiWen Jiabaostate visitG20 summitMichaëlle JeanExpo 2010GuangdongSichuanMichael IgnatieffGuangzhouuraniumCanada-China Promotion and Reciprocal Protection of Investments AgreementAthabasca oil sandsfree trade agreementState Owned EnterpriseConservative Party of CanadaInvestment Canada ActOsgoode HallGus Van HartenNAFTA Chapter 11Most Favoured NationJustin TrudeauLi KeqiangcanolaGoddess of Democracyextradition treatyCharles BurtonQuebecCouillard governmentfrackingSt. Lawrence SeawayDavid JohnstonThe Globe and MailNathan VanderKlippeXinjiangDavid WalmsleyChrystia FreelandWorld Press Freedom IndexReporters Without BordersNobel Peace PrizeLiu XiaoboCN Towerstate-owned enterpriseChina Communications Construction CompanyMinister of Innovation, Science and Economic DevelopmentNavdeep BainsJohn BeckTony ClementUnited States–Mexico–Canada Agreementpoison pillState-owned enterprisesAndrew Scheersoybeanforeign direct investment