The Tense Encounter

Trudeau claims Chinese interference in Canada, Xi not pleased

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau finally worked up the courage to speak his mind to Chinese leader Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Bali, Indonesia.

Trudeau had to wait until Micheal Kovrig and Michael Spavor were back safely on Canadian soil, and then months of Covid-19 to finally meet Xi in person.

In the short terse informal meeting, Trudeau brought up the issue of China covertly funding 11 candidates in the 2019 federal elections 

Xi refuses to look Trudeau in the eye

Some say the exchange was meant for the Canadian domestic audience to show Trudeau standing up to Xi. But instead of being diplomatically suave with some chosen, firm words, Trudeau seems to look like rookie.

In the Canadian pool footage, Xi is annoyed that Trudeau had leaked their conversation to the media. 

"It's inappropriate to tell the newspaper what we talked about. That's not what we did," says Xi. "If there is sincerity, we should communicate well with each other in a respectful manner. Otherwise the result is hard to say. [We need to] create conditions, create conditions."

Others say Xi is annoyed, expecting deals to be kept under wraps but now they've been exposed.

Interesting that Xi refused to look Trudeau in the eye, and irritated Xi cuts the conversation short, shakes hands and leaves with a smile on his face. Trudeau scurries off before reporters can grill him.

In any event, Canada is not a priority in China's books, having been in the doghouse for the last few years, particularly since the arrest of Meng Wanzhou and the subsequent trial which took years to finally come to its conclusion.

Alleged "police service station" in Markham, ON

"Canada's been in the penalty box for a few years now," said Andrew Cooper, a professor with the Balsillie School of International Affairs at the University of Waterloo.

"This is a very different China. President Xi is in a consolidated position. If he's not the new Mao, he's certainly in a position where he can be a central figure that can work in a way that we didn't anticipate when the G20 was created."

Canadian media are now focused on Chinese influence in the country, uncovering proxies who are used to funnel money from China to fund political candidates. There is also the issue of Chinese "service stations", three of which are in Ontario, but there could be more.

There are numerous "China-Canada friendship associations" that have a shell website or Facebook page, but don't reveal who is behind them... 

The media may not be able to get to the bottom of the matter, but the fact that Chinese influence is on their radar is enough to make Beijing worry.