The lamentable state in which Canada finds itself in its relationship to the Indo-Pacific is largely the result of a government incapable of understanding the reality of the balance of power in this region and of its own clumsiness vis-à-vis China. […]
It is difficult to find an explanation for this series of blunders by the Trudeau government in its relations with China. This government, which prides itself on being a model of transparency, according to what Justin Trudeau said to his Chinese counterpart at the G20 summit in Bali, Indonesia, is not. While announcing his intention to draft a China policy after his election in 2015, he never opened up to the public about his plans until he finally delivered a strategy last fall. Earlier, Anglo-Canadian media reported that the Trudeau government’s China policy was being crafted in the prime minister’s office and the Department of Foreign Affairs (Global Affairs Canada) was essentially kept out of it. This revelation had the advantage of clarifying that the responsibility for the misadventures of Justin Trudeau is indeed his.
To fully understand the state of Canada-China relations, it would be useful to recall the genesis of the Trudeau government’s blunders. This will make it easier to understand the disdain and impatience of Xi Jinping’s government for his Canadian counterpart. We will also be able to better appreciate the intellectual deficit that presided over the development of this “Indo-Pacific strategy”.
The first example of a series of blunders by the Trudeau government took place in December 2017, two years after it took power. During a visit that was to lead to the signing of an agreement for the start of negotiations on a comprehensive trade treaty, Justin Trudeau had encountered a wall facing the Chinese who did not want to hear anything about including provisions relating to workers and women’s rights. We still do not know why the Canadian delegation had not anticipated such an outcome before embarking on this trip. After a few days of twiddling his thumbs in China, Trudeau returned to Canada empty-handed.
In 2018, a G20 conference is held in Argentina. Justin Trudeau and Xi Jinping meet there for this two-day summit from November 30 to 1er December. While Xi Jinping rubs shoulders with the greats of this world in Buenos Aires, Canada proceeds to the detention of Meng Wanzhou during his visit to Vancouver at the express request of the United States. One can imagine the humiliation that such a detention could represent for President Xi Jinping at this precise moment. According to a daily survey The Wall Street Journal published last September, President Xi went out of his way to free this member of the elite. Without success. According to the New York daily, Chinese officials were particularly frustrated with the fact that Canadian extradition law allows extradition proceedings to be overridden if the national interest so requires. Two dozen countries, including Mexico, have refused to comply with the US government’s request. Only Canada has activated to detain Mme Meng. When we know that the Meng affair essentially ended in a fishtail, we can understand that China sees Canada as a servant of the American government. Second clumsiness. […]
At Trudeau’s insistence, the Chinese president gave in and gave him ten minutes in the halls of the G20 site on November 15. Despite the delicate nature of the relationship, Trudeau hastened to reveal to the media the content of this short exchange in the form of an account (readout in English) which reportedly focused on China’s alleged activities in the 2019 federal election as well as the war in Ukraine and North Korea. First misstep. The next day, Trudeau adds to it during an “impromptu” meeting with the Chinese president, reminding him that Canada is a democracy where people are used to discussing things openly even if they disagree on certain points. Given the Prime Minister’s gaffes since 2017, could Trudeau really give lessons? Second misstep.
At this G20 summit in Bali, the media only remembered this short exchange between Trudeau and Xi during which the latter criticized the Canadian Prime Minister for having revealed to the media the content of their conversation the day before. […]
We may never know if this so-called “impromptu” meeting had not in fact been set up from scratch by the Trudeau team. The fact that a camera was on site in front of Trudeau and Xi at this precise moment may be puzzling. Trudeau, he used it to sell to the Canadian public the image that he knew of standing in front of the Chinese colossus. We will see later what it will cost us. The last time Trudeau stood up to China, in 2018, Canadian and Quebec farmers suffered hundreds of millions. […]