San Francisco –
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told Xi Jinping during a chance meeting at the annual economic summit of Pacific Rim leaders that concluded in northern California on Friday that Canada and China need to remain in touch.
Wednesday’s four-hour meeting between Xi and U.S. President Joe Biden was the highlight of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting, which focused on building an economic bulwark against China’s growing influence.
Trudeau’s clash was at best perfunctory — the two happened to be side by side for a traditional family photo on Thursday — but he did try his hand at diplomacy outside of the summit. .
Trudeau “spoke about how our officials and teams need to continue to work together to create constructive dialogue on issues that are not only important to us personally, but also important to the world.” said.
“This is part of the work that Canada needs to continue to do around the world, including in countries that don’t agree with it.”
So what did Mr. Xi say? The prime minister said, “I acknowledged what I said.”
It was a fitting end to a summit that seemed dominated from the start by the presence of the Chinese president, whose heart was clearly in San Francisco during his first visit to the United States in 1985.
Mr. Xi has been largely conciliatory throughout this week, acknowledging U.S. concerns about the influx of illegal fentanyl from China and the geopolitical importance of the military having open lines of communication with the Pentagon.
“The world needs China and the United States to work together for a better future,” Xi said at a dinner hosted by business leaders from the Asia-Pacific region earlier in the week.
“China is ready to be a partner and friend of the United States.”
It’s too early to tell whether the same sentiment ultimately applies to Canada, Prime Minister Trudeau suggested at Friday’s closing press conference, calling the tone of the U.S.-China talks a “good sign.”
“One of the characteristics of APEC is that it is a very diverse group of countries that share a common ocean, so it is very important to have frank and direct conversations about where and how we can work together. It’s important.”
“Canada will continue to engage with China at various levels as we seek to move forward in a more positive direction, but we remain very firmly committed to our principles and values.”
Things took a dramatic turn in late 2018 when Canada detained Meng Wanzhou, Huawei’s chief financial officer and daughter of the tech giant’s founder, at the request of U.S. authorities.
Two Canadians, Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig, were immediately detained in China in what was widely seen as retaliation and were not released until more than 1,000 days later, the very day Meng was finally freed.
China also imposed a multi-year ban on imports of Canadian beef and canola, citing dubious and unproven concerns about pests.
And a year after the Canadian government named China a world-destroying force and declared it responsible for attempted foreign interference, the Chinese government eased restrictions on group travel, excluding Canada. .
“We have always made clear our concerns about foreign interference for years, and we will continue to do everything necessary to keep Canadians safe,” Trudeau said.
“At the same time, we need to look for constructive ways to engage in the global economy, and China remains an important player.”
In September, Ottawa appointed a judge to lead a public inquiry into foreign interference in the federal electoral process and democratic institutions, naming “China, Russia, and other foreign states or non-state actors.”
Earlier this year, Conservative MP Michael Chong testified before a parliamentary committee about his experience of being the target of China’s coercion and misinformation campaigns.
After their meeting concluded, neither Biden nor Trudeau sought to soften their broader message about China and its leaders.
“He is a dictator in the sense that he runs a communist country,” Biden said at a press conference on Wednesday, a comment that drew a sharp rebuke from China’s foreign ministry.
Asked on Friday if he thought Mr. Xi was a dictator, Trudeau gave much the same answer, but without the words.
“Look, China is a one-party state. No one would call it a democracy,” he said. “You can go into all sorts of different definitions. The fact is, he’s not running a democracy. It’s an authoritarian state.”
Aside from President Xi’s U.S. visit, the summit has largely remained a low-key affair, despite often loud and well-attended protests outside the towering fence surrounding the downtown venue. .
Prime Minister Trudeau hosted bilateral meetings with officials from Japan, Australia, Thailand, Vietnam and Mexico, as well as California Governor Gavin Newsom.
He also met with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim on Friday. The country has signed a multi-million dollar cybersecurity agreement with BlackBerry, a world-renowned technology pioneer based in Waterloo, Ont.
Ibrahim, a prominent opposition voice and dissident who was jailed multiple times in Malaysia on politically motivated charges before his meteoric rise to power, had a special message for Canada: .
For more than a decade, he was in and out of prison, but “the only high commissioner who always attended the embassy was a Canadian,” he said.
“So I think we have to tell Canadians how much (it) meant to us during that difficult time.”
Prime Minister Trudeau also visited SF Market, a vast produce wholesaler near San Francisco’s famous pier, where he hosted a roundtable discussion with food producers, academics, and technology and logistics experts from Canada and the United States. and discussed tackling affordability and supply chain challenges.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 17, 2023.
