Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand met with her Chinese counterpart to celebrate 20 years of the “Canada-China Strategic Partnership” and to discuss strengthening Canada’s ties with the country controlled by a Communist party.
Global Affairs Canada released a briefing on the meeting with China’s foreign minister Wang Yi last Friday, saying it was to “advance bilateral relations” following 55 years since Canada began diplomatic ties with the Communist dictatorship.
The readout said the two ministers “discussed new and established mechanisms such as consular consultations and law enforcement cooperation dialogue.
“Both ministers reaffirmed a shared commitment to engage at all levels to ensure the relationship and strategic partnership continue to move forward constructively and pragmatically,” it reads.
In 2022, reports found that the Chinese government has been operating extrajudicial police stations all across Canada. China was also named in the foreign interference in Canadian elections committee as one of the most significant violators of Canadian sovereignty in elections, along with India.
China was also at the heart of a controversy involving the kidnapping of two Canadians, Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig, known as “the two Michaels,” following the arrest of a Chinese-owned Huawei CFO, Meng Wanzhou, for alleged fraud. China at the time maintained that the arrest and detention of Spavor and Kovrig on “espionage” charges were unrelated to Wanzhou’s arrest.
Conservative MP Michael Chong criticized the move as being hypocritical, as during the last election, Carney stated that the number one threat to Canada’s security was China. Anand responded saying Canada’s security is always “top of mind” for the Liberal government, but it will continue the partnership to make Canada “the strongest economy in the G7.”
On Monday, Anand reportedly told The Canadian Press that strengthening the partnership means not allowing “individual irritants” to strain the Canada-China relationship, and that it is essential to “advance Canada’s economic and security interests.”
She said there will always be “challenges” to the relationship, but that it’s important to maintain a dialogue with the dictatorship.
“We must be nuanced in our diplomacy. We must stress our concerns relating to security and public safety on the one hand, and we must seek to build additional supply chains on the other. That is pragmatism,” Anand told the Canadian Press. “What we are aiming to do is to recalibrate the relationship, so that it is constructive and pragmatic.”
She noted that the People’s Republic of China is a major global economic player and the talks were part of Prime Minister Mark Carney’s commitment to building “the strongest economy in the G7” by diversifying trade.
The report said Anand stated that the talks covered “everything from cybersecurity and air travel to health, energy and the environment.” Anand also invited Wang to visit Canada.
She also noted that Canada’s relationship with Taiwan was a point of contention, but she affirmed that Canada’s policy on Taiwan is still the Communist Party of China’s own “One China Policy,” which says the PRC is the only “legitimate government of China,” including Taiwan.
“We do adhere to a One China policy, and I want to emphasize that Canada is a world leader in advancing human rights and the rules-based international order. That’s never going to change,” Anand said. “Diplomacy is best done minister to minister, and we will always put the needs of Canadians first, and we will continue our engagement with Taiwan.”
This comes just days after Canada’s representative Marie-Louise Hannan at the Canadian Trade Office in Taipei met with Taiwan’s foreign affairs minister, Lin Chia-Lung.
The Canadian Trade Office in Taipei did not respond to True North’s requests for comment; however, John Babcock, a spokesman for Global Affairs Canada, reaffirmed Canada’s “One China policy” to True North.
“Canada and Taiwan enjoy strong unofficial economic and people-to-people ties, consistent with Canada’s One China policy,” he said.
