The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mélanie Joly, and her Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, say they want to find common ground and maintain communication, despite tensions across the Pacific.
The two officials spoke Thursday, four months after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said rapprochement with China would be impossible, in part because of concerns about foreign interference.
This call was made at the request of Mr.me Joly, and the minister’s office says it’s part of her promise to take a pragmatic approach to diplomacy and continue talking with countries with which Ottawa is at odds.
Both countries acknowledged ongoing diplomatic tensions in their statements while implying that the other side was behind the tensions.
However, both are committed to maintaining open channels of communication.
The two ministers also discussed the conflict between Israel and Hamas, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and cooperation in the fight against climate change.
The two countries tasked their officials with advancing next steps, such as increasing Chinese-Canadian people-to-people exchanges and cooperation on trade and biodiversity.
Beijing detained Canadian citizens Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig from late 2018 to fall 2021 and imposed multi-year bans on certain Canadian imports, in what was widely seen as retaliation for the arrest in Vancouver of the Huawei’s chief financial officer, Meng Wanzhou, under a US extradition warrant.
The Chinese government excluded Canada from a move last year to ease restrictions on group travel abroad, arguing that Ottawa had “exaggerated” allegations of foreign interference.
In an English translation of the statement issued by China’s Foreign Ministry on Thursday and published in state media, Wang was quoted as saying that the two countries have significant influence in the Asia-Pacific region. He said Canada and China do not have conflicting interests or historical battles, and outlined three ways Ottawa could improve its relationship with Beijing.
China offers ways to improve relations
The first involves Canada acknowledging that it has caused a diplomatic rift, although Mr. Wang has not explained how.
Liberals disagree with this characterization, arguing that China upholds different values and disrupts the world order. Wang says China does not question international rules, but rather seeks development.
The second is “mutual respect”, which according to him involves recognizing Taiwan as part of China and working constructively, “so as not to let differences dominate bilateral relations”.
The third is to focus on “win-win cooperation”, for example avoiding the politicization of trade and “pan-security economic issues”. The request comes as the United States and its allies limit China’s access to certain microchip technologies and the ownership of foreign assets by Chinese state-owned enterprises.
Mr. Trudeau declined to say whether U.S. semiconductor bans went beyond national security concerns and instead sought to hamper Beijing’s economic growth.