Human rights to top talks with Hu Jintao
No trade-off with economic issues, Prime Minister says Chinese president arrives in Canada for first state visit
OTTAWA— Human rights will be a top priority in his discussions with Chinese President Hu Jintao today, Prime Minister Paul Martin said yesterday.
“ It is a very important issue, and . . . there isn’t a trade- off between human rights and economics,” Martin told reporters after a meeting with his cabinet. “ We are going to be raising both issues, and I can tell you that in my meetings with the president on this particular trip, it will be at the very top of the list.” Over the years, there has been internal tension in the Canadian government between the desire to take advantage of China’s growth and discomfort with China’s human rights record.
“ We have to do this incredibly difficult balancing act,” said John Fraser of Massey College, author of The Chinese: Portrait of a People, pointing to the difficulty in reconciling the desire to trade without forgetting Canadian values.
China is Canada’s second- largest trading partner, and twoway trade has grown to $25 billion a year from $5 billion a decade ago. Hu arrived in Ottawa yesterday afternoon for a state visit that will bring him to Toronto, Niagara Falls and Vancouver. Falun Gong demonstrators gathered at his hotel, protesting his visit with signs and banners along Sussex Drive. Hu said yesterday Canada and China have complementary economies, and should be able to work together more closely to the benefit of both countries.
“ China is the most populous developing country in the world, while Canada is the largest developed country in terms of land mass,” Hu said, through a translator, in a ceremony in front of Rideau Hall. “ The two economies are highly complementary to one another, and there are vast potentials for mutually beneficial co- operation.” Canada first established diplomatic relations with the People’s Republic of China in 1970, and Hu said that the exchanges and co- operation have boomed “ in the political, economic, trade, energy scientific, technological, educational cultural and other fields.” He said these relationships have proven to be very productive, and that as Pacific
nations, Canada and
China both have important responsibilities in safeguarding
world peace.
“ In today’s world, the
economic globalization continues to unfold,” he said. “Science and technology are advancing by leaps and bounds, and international economic and technical co- operation has become more buoyant. There is a very good opportunity for the furthering of the ChinaCanada relationship.” The Chinese president said the main purpose of his visit is “ to enhance mutual trust, promote co- operation and bring our bilateral relations to a new high.” He congratulated Canada on its success in creating a developed modern society where the nation enjoys prosperity and people “ live and work in peace and contentment.” Governor General Adrienne Clarkson, in welcoming Hu at the state dinner held in his honour, said the evening was special to her for two reasons.
“ First, this is my last state dinner as Governor General, as I leave office in two and a half weeks,” she said.
“ The second reason — I hope you’ve noticed — is that I, too, am Chinese.” She said that both sides of her family were part of the massive Chinese diaspora around the world. Her grandfather went to Australia from the Pearl River Delta at the end of the 19th century. Her mother, who was Hakka, spent part of her childhood in Java, now Indonesia. She remarked that Chinese immigrants helped build the national railway in the 19th century.
“ If we had not been connected by that east- west band of iron, there would be no Canada as we know it today,” she said.