Beijing expels Canadian envoy in tit-for-tat row over meddling

CHINA expelled Canada’s consul in Shanghai yesterday in a tit-for-tat move after a Chinese diplomat was sent home accused of trying to intimidate a politician critical of Beijing.

The Chinese foreign ministry labelled Jennifer Lynn Lalonde “persona non grata” in a statement published online yesterday, adding “China reserves the right to further react”. She was told to leave China by May 13.

“China strongly condemns and firmly opposes this and has lodged serious démarche and strong protest to Canada,” the statement said, referring to Ottawa’s decision to expel a Chinese diplomat in Toronto.

“As a reciprocal countermeasure in reaction to Canada’s unscrupulous move, China decides to declare Jennifer Lynn Lalonde, consul of the Consulate General of Canada in Shanghai persona non grata,” it added. “China reserves the right to further react.” Neither Canada’s foreign ministry nor its embassy in Beijing or Shanghai consulate replied to requests for comment.

The move by Beijing comes after Melanie Joly, Canada’s foreign minister, said that Zhao Wei, the Toronto-based Chinese diplomat, must leave the country. Canada, she said, would “not tolerate any form of foreign interference in our internal affairs”.

She said: “We remain firm in our resolve that defending our democracy is of the utmost importance,” adding that diplomats in Canada “have been warned that if they engage in this type of behaviour, they will be sent home”.

The expulsions plunged the two nations into a fresh diplomatic row after years of souring relations. It follows an outcry led by Michael Chong, the Canadian parliamentarian, over allegations that China’s intelligence agency had planned to target him and his relatives in Hong Kong with sanctions for voting in February 2021 for a motion condemning Beijing’s conduct in the Xinjiang region as genocide.

Justin Trudeau, the Canadian prime minister, has faced growing pressure to take a hard line with Beijing after disclosures in recent months that it sought to sway Canada’s 2019 and 2021 elections. The latest allegations were used by critics to accuse him of inertia in the face of foreign meddling.

Relations between Beijing and Ottawa have been tense since Canada’s arrest in 2018 of a senior Huawei executive and the detention of two Canadian nationals in China in apparent retaliation. After China’s ambassador was summoned last week, Beijing described the move as “groundless slander and defamation” by Canada.

‘We remain firm in our resolve that defending our democracy is of the utmost importance’