How Xi’s scolding exposes sour relationship between China and Canada

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Present at the G20 meeting in Bali, Xi Jinping was caught in a tough conversation with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Wednesday (16) (see video here). Backstage at the conference that brings together the leaders of the 20 largest economies in the world, the Chinese leader approached Trudeau to complain about the leak of information shared behind closed doors.

What Xi said: “Everything we discussed has been leaked to the newspapers and this is not appropriate. This is not how the conversation should be conducted. If there was sincerity on your part, we will conduct our discussion with an attitude of mutual respect, otherwise, there may be unforeseen consequences”.

Trudeau’s response: “We believe [no Canadá] in a free, open and frank dialogue”. He then argues that, while he hopes to “continue to work constructively together, there will be things where we disagree”.

Xi immediately retorted: “Let’s create the conditions for this first,” and walked away from the premier shortly thereafter.

According to Canadian media, Xi was referring to Trudeau’s complaints at a closed meeting about alleged Chinese funding of 11 parliamentary candidates in Canada.

While rough exchanges are not uncommon at international summits, Xi rarely exposes himself in confrontational situations.

• All of his appearances are carefully rehearsed to avoid negative repercussions. Perhaps for this reason, the Chinese Foreign Ministry was quick to try to soften the tone of the conversation;

• The conversation between Xi and Trudeau was also censored in China and not shown on TV networks.

“It was indeed a brief conversation that both leaders had during the G20 summit. This is very normal. I don’t think it should be interpreted as President Xi criticizing or accusing anyone,” said Mao Ning, spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Chinese foreign.

Why it matters: the unfriendly dialogue between Xi and Trudeau is just one sign of how sour the Sino-Canadian relationship has become. Three events explain this scenario:

1. The arrest of Meng Wanzhou on Canadian soil in 2018. She is the daughter of the founder of Huawei, the company’s chief financial officer and was detained at Vancouver airport at the request of the United States for allegedly violating sanctions on Iran.
2. China responded by arresting Canadians Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor on espionage charges and the matter was only resolved last year.
3. Recently, Canadian Chancellor Melanie Joly said that China is becoming “an increasingly disruptive global power” and that it “challenges them when necessary and would cooperate when possible”.

what also matters

A Chinese intelligence official responsible for leading the anti-corruption task force confessed on Thursday to receiving bribes.

Liu Yanping was the disciplinary chief of the Ministry of State Security and is said to have received more than ¥234 million (about R$176 million). He is accused of belonging to a “political gang” led by Sun Lijun, a former deputy minister of public security and a close figure of former Chinese leader Hu Jintao.

With the confession, the Changchun court adjourned the session and will announce the sentence at a later date. Li is also accused of “disloyalty to Xi Jinping”, an offense for which he was the subject of a documentary shown on state broadcaster CCTV earlier this year.

THE Chinese automaker BYD will expand operations and manufacture two new electric car models in Brazil, Reuters reported.

The company’s president for the Americas, Stella Li, stated that “now is the right political and environmental moment for us to invest in the construction of these new technologies in Brazil”.

She asked that the new government of president-elect Lula (PT) have “an open mind so that this technology [carros elétricos] flourish”.

The company is in Campinas and wants to produce the new vehicles in Bahia, after signing an agreement with the state government to take advantage of the facilities left by the American Ford.

keep an eye

After meeting face-to-face in Bali for the G20, Joe Biden and Xi Jinping put the heat on and decided to resume cooperation between the two countries in the climate sphere. Negotiations had been stalled since US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan. Resuming the subject encouraged the negotiators present at another important meeting: COP 27, headquartered in Egypt.

Why it matters: the joint statement by the two leaders at the G20 giving the go-ahead for the re-establishment of the dialogue improved the relationship between the two delegations in Egypt.

• US and Chinese climate envoys John Kerry and Xie Zhenhua did not hold any official meetings during COP 27, but were seen talking informally on at least seven occasions.

• The minister for the climate of Spain, Teresa Ribera, was one of those present to react, saying she was “hopeful that this rapprochement will reinvigorate the negotiations between the two [países] issuers [de CO2]🇧🇷

to go deep

• On the next 17th, 21st and 23rd of November, USP will hold a cinematographic mini-exhibition with Chinese productions. The event takes place in Auditorium A of the School of Communication and Arts at 7 pm and will show the productions “Goodbye, my concubine”, “Havana Divas” and “Viver para Cantar”. (free)

• In his last episode recorded in Brazil, linguist Calebe Guerra speaks in his Chinese literature podcast BiYiNiao do Livro about fear and courage from a Confucian perspective. 🇧🇷free, in portuguese🇧🇷

• At Observa China, Francisco Falsetti Xavier and Carlos Renato Ungaretti discuss the Argentine candidacy for the BRICS, listing the possible implications for Brazilian diplomacy and trade. 🇧🇷free, in portuguese🇧🇷