Canada, China need to address obstacles

The current political and economic landscape has posed numerous challenges on Canada’s relationship with China over the past few years, but former Canadian politicians at a business forum this week believe there are ways for the two countries to reengage with each other.

Following the arrest of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou in 2018, Canada’s relations with China have taken a turn for the worse.

“We’ve gone from sunny ways with China to dark days with China,” said Jean Charest, former Canadian deputy prime minister and former Quebec premier, during the forum hosted by the Canada China Business Council on Tuesday.

It is harder to rebuild than damage a relationship if the government will not take responsibility, he said.

“Now, our biggest challenge is (to) define our core interests as a country, not just as a neighbor of the US, but define what our core interest is,” Charest told the webinar.

The upcoming COP15 meeting on biodiversity in Montreal, to be chaired by China, would be an opportunity for the two countries to work together, he suggested.

Observers are hoping the talks will deliver a landmark deal to protect nature and reverse the damage humans have done to forests, wetlands, waterways and the millions of species that live in them.

“We have to look for opportunities to reengage at the highest level possible to build trust and start making the relationship much more workable,” said Charest, adding that it will not happen easily.

Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly unveiled a so-called Indo-Pacific strategy on Nov 27. It proposes changes to the Investment Canada Act to prevent state-owned enterprises and other foreign entities that are considered threats to Canada’s national security from taking over critical Canadian industries and intellectual property.

In response, China’s embassy in Ottawa released a statement that accused Canada of exaggerating the so-called China threat, undermining peace and stability in the region, and trying to meddle with China’s internal affairs regarding Taiwan.

Charest said given the strategy delivered by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government, Canada needs to consider how to have more redundancy in its supply chains to protect areas of strategic interest.

“China has become the manufacturer of the world, and (its) low-cost manufacturers’ supply chains (are) very effective,” Charest said. “But we need to stay engaged with China. We cannot just turn it off and pretend (to) the world that China doesn’t exist.”