image source,Prime Minister’s Office Canada/Reuters
Trudeau (middle left) and Xi Jinping (middle right) talked briefly for 10 minutes the day before the reprimand incident, and the Canadian Prime Minister’s Office released news and photos afterwards.
During the G20 summit in Bali, Indonesia, Chinese President Xi Jinping publicly criticized Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for leaking the content of their conversation to the media. The process was captured and exposed by video reporters.
The conversation took place at an event on Wednesday (November 16). Xi Jinping accused Trudeau of lack of “sincerity” through an interpreter. It is estimated that the Canadian side revealed that the two discussed the Canadian side’s accusation that Chinese intelligence personnel were involved in the Canadian election the day before.
The brief conversation between Trudeau and Xi Jinping on Tuesday (15th) was the first face-to-face conversation between the two in many years, and no media reporters were present at the time.
The video of Wednesday’s exchange of words, which is traditionally handled with great rigor by Chinese state media, revealed a rare side to Mr. Xi.
What are Trudeau and Xi Jinping arguing about?
“Create conditions”: Xi Jinping admonishes Trudeau at G20
Canadian Television Corporation (CTV) parliamentary affairs reporter Annie Bergeron-Oliver (Annie Bergeron-Oliver) was one of the media reporters who first broke the clip.according to herclips from camera footage of the Canadian Joint Interview Team.
In the video, it can be seen that the two are standing very close to each other without masks, and a Chinese interpreter is in the middle. Leaders of other participating countries greeted each other around the hall.
Xi told Trudeau with a smile on his face: “It is not appropriate that all our discussions are leaked to the newspapers.”
“If there is sincerity, we should have a good communication with mutual respect, otherwise the result will be hard to say.”
Trudeau smiled and nodded before responding: “What we in Canada believe in is free, open and frank dialogue, and we have always been. We will continue to seek constructive cooperation, but there may also be times of disagreement along the way.”
Xi Jinping interrupted Trudeau and said, “Create conditions, create conditions”, then shook hands with Trudeau with a smile and left.
By Stephen McDonell, BBC Beijing correspondentDescribe the atmosphere of the conversation as “quite tense”: “When Trudeau started to respond, Xi Jinping didn’t want to look him in the eye, and then to some extent denied his statement. I guess Canadian leaders will not accept the remarks of the head of state of China.”
“Of course, the closeness of the camera in the video also changes the dynamic.”
What is Xi Jinping referring to when he accuses Canada of leaking information?
image source,Getty Images
Canada’s Global News Network (Global News) published an investigative report in early November, accusing China of allegedly subsidizing 11 federal election candidates through its embassy in Canada.
Xi and Trudeau also spoke briefly in the crowd before another official event on Tuesday between world leaders. The Prime Minister’s Office of Canada later released photos of the scene and the content of the conversation. Reuters quoted Canadian sources as saying that the conversation lasted 10 minutes.
Trudeau is also pressuring Xi over the second phase of the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity’s 15th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP15) in December and China’s importance in climate change, the prime minister’s office said. The meeting was originally scheduled to be held in Kunming, China, but it was decided in June this year to be held in Montreal, Canada, but China will still be the chair country.
After being personally criticized by Xi Jinping on Wednesday, Trudeau attended his own press conference, confirming that he “raised the matter of interfering with our citizens” with Xi Jinping, and said that it was “very important” to have such a dialogue.
In fact, Trudeau was not the only Canadian representative who raised the issue of election interference with China in Bali. Foreign Minister Melanie Joly (Melanie Chao) met with Canadian journalists Wednesday with International Trade Minister Ng Fengyi and said she raised the issue of election interference as “unacceptable” when she met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi.
How do Canadian and Chinese media and international public opinion evaluate the interaction between Trump and Xi?
The Canadian media and international social media are discussing how Xi Jinping “rebuked” Trudeau. Brian Lilley, a columnist for the Toronto Sun, described “a small potato that was peeled in public by Chinese President Xi Jinping”—a “little potato” that Trudeau picked up during his visit to China in 2016. The nickname was obtained by Chinese netizens because the pronunciation of “Tudou” is similar to Trudeau.
Opposition NDP foreign affairs commentator Heather McPherson MP criticized the ruling Liberal leader for provoking a “diplomatic incident,” CBC reported.
Assistant Professor, School of Politics and International Relations, University of Nottingham, UKDr Andreas Fulda said: “Xi Jinping reprimanded Trudeau severely like a primary school student. Xi Jinping showed that Canada’s desire to have a dialogue with China led by the CCP is not unconditional.”
image source,G20 MEDIA CENTER/Reuters
Trudeau suddenly announced an early general election in August 2021, and the ruling Liberal Party narrowly won, allowing him to win a third term as prime minister.
She pointed out that the “leakage” accused by Xi Jinping is the standard operation of the Canadian Prime Minister’s Office in handling dialogues between the country and foreign leaders. Foreign Minister Jolly held a press conference in Bali to discuss relevant content, which can be regarded as participation. “Being taught about secrecy by Chinese leaders is a bit like being taught about diplomacy by Donald Trump.”
Delacorte also pointed out that from the clip, when Trudeau learned from the translator that Xi Jinping was actually teaching him a lesson, “the Prime Minister immediately looked directly at Xi Jinping and approached him-Trudeau whenever he was challenged. this way”.
“Canadians generally like to see their prime minister tense with a contentious world leader.”
China-Canada Relations Since the Huawei Incident
image source,LightRocket via Getty Images
The Chinese espionage case in Quebec has become the latest development between Canada and China.
The brief exchange between the Chinese and Canadian leaders highlighted tensions between the two countries since the arrest of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou in 2018. Beijing later also arrested two Canadian citizens, and the three were eventually released in September 2021.
But just as Trudeau was in contact with Xi Jinping in Bali, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police arrested Wang Yuesheng, a former Chinese-born staff member of Hydro-Quebec, and charged him with espionage, showing that the tension has not subsided.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police said Wang Yuesheng “obtained industry secrets to benefit the People’s Republic of China at the expense of Canada’s economic interests.”
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Mao Ning said Tuesday: “I don’t know about the situation. The Canadian side should handle the relevant cases according to law and not politicize them.”
And just a week before the opening of the G20 summit, Canadian Foreign Minister Jolly said in a speech that China was becoming more and more destructive and said that it would strengthen relations with Taiwan, which caused dissatisfaction in Beijing. China’s foreign ministry said it had lodged representations with Canada.
She said: “Today’s China is not what it was in 1970. China is an increasingly subversive power. China is trying to shape an international environment in which interests and values are farther and farther away from us.”
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian countered: “The Canadian side’s remarks about China contradict the facts, are full of ideological prejudice, and blatantly interfere in China’s internal affairs.”