image source,Office of the Canadian Prime Minister/Reuters
Trudeau (center left) and Xi Jinping (center right) spoke briefly for 10 minutes the day before the scolding incident, and the Canadian Prime Minister’s Office released the news and photos afterward.
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. Video reporters captured and showed the process.
The conversation took place at an event on Wednesday (November 16). Xi Jinping accused Trudeau of insincerity through an interpreter, possibly because the Canadian side revealed that the two had discussed the Canadian side’s accusation that Chinese intelligence agents were suspected of meddling in the Canadian elections the day before.
The short conversation between Trudeau and Xi Jinping on Tuesday (15) was the first face-to-face conversation between the two in many years, and there were no media journalists present at the time.
The video of the exchange of words on Wednesday, which is traditionally treated with great sternness by Chinese state media, revealed a rare side to Mr. Xi.
What are Trudeau and Xi Jinping arguing about?
‘Creating conditions’: Xi Jinping admonishes Trudeau at the G-20 summit
Canadian Television (CTV) Parliamentary Affairs Correspondent Annie Bergeron Oliver (Annie Bergeron Oliver) was one of the media reporters who first broke the clip.According to herClips from the Canadian Joint Interview Team’s camera footage.
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. The leaders of the participating countries greeted each other around the hall.
Xi told Trudeau with a smile on his face: “It is not appropriate for all our discussions to be leaked to the newspapers.”
“If there is sincerity, we must have good communication with mutual respect, otherwise it will be difficult to say the outcome.”
Trudeau nodded before replying: “What we believe in in Canada is free, open, and frank dialogue, and we always have. We will continue to seek constructive cooperation, but there may be times when opinions differ along the way.”
Xi Jinping interrupted Trudeau and said, “Create conditions, create conditions,” and then shook hands with Trudeau with a smile and left.
By Stephen McDonnell, the BBC’s Beijing correspondentDescribe the atmosphere of the conversation as “quite tense”: “When Trudeau started to respond, Xi Jinping did not want to look him in the eye, and then somewhat denied his statement. I believe that the leaders of Canada will not accept the statements of the Chinese head of state.”
“Of course, the close-up of the camera in the video also changes the dynamics.”
What is Xi Jinping referring to when he accuses Canada of leaking information?
image source,Getty Images
Canada’s Global News Network published an investigative report in early November, accusing China of supporting 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 Canadian Prime Minister’s office later published pictures of the scene and the content of the conversation, and Reuters quoted Canadian sources as saying that the conversation lasted 10 minutes.
The prime minister’s office said Trudeau is also pressing Xi on the second phase of the 15th meeting of the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity of the Conference of the Parties (COP15) in December and China’s importance to climate change. The meeting was originally scheduled to be held in Kunming, China, but in June this year it was decided to be held in Montreal, Canada, but China will still be the country presiding over the meeting.
After being personally criticized by Xi Jinping on Wednesday, Trudeau attended his press conference and confirmed that he “raised the issue of interference with our citizens” with Xi Jinping, saying it was “very important” to have such a dialogue.
Indeed, Trudeau wasn’t the only Canadian representative to raise the issue of election interference with China in Bali. Foreign Minister Melanie Jolie (Melanie Zhao) met with Canadian reporters on Wednesday with International Trade Minister Ng Fung Yi and said that 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 assess the interaction between Trump and Xi?
Canadian media and international social media are discussing how Xi Jinping “rebuked” Trudeau. Toronto Sun columnist Brian Lilly (Brian Lilly) described (Toronto Sun) “Chinese President Xi Jinping peeled small potatoes in public“——“Little Tudou” is a nickname that Trudeau received from Chinese netizens during his visit to China in 2016, because the pronunciation of “Tudo” is similar to that of Trudeau.
As CBC reportsHeather McPherson, a foreign affairs commentator for the opposition National Democratic Party, criticized the ruling Liberal leader for triggering a “diplomatic incident”.
Assistant Professor, School of Politics and International Relations, University of Nottingham, UKsaid Dr. Andreas Fulda: “Xi Jinping scolded Trudeau as hard as a primary school student. Xi Jinping showed that Canada’s willingness to talk to China led by the CCP is not unconditional.”
image source,G20 Media Center/Reuters
Trudeau suddenly announced an early general election for August 2021, and the ruling Liberal Party narrowly won, allowing him to win a third term as prime minister.
Noting that the “leak” that Xi Jinping has accused is the Canadian Prime Minister’s Office’s standard process in handling dialogues between the country and foreign leaders, Secretary of State Jolie held a press conference in Bali to discuss relevant content, which could be considered an engagement. Being taught secrecy by China’s leaders is a bit like being taught about diplomacy by Donald Trump.
Delacorte also noted that, from the clip, when Trudeau learned from the interpreter that Xi Jinping was in fact teaching him a lesson, “the prime minister immediately looked at Xi Jinping and approached him — Trudeau has always been challenged in that way.”
Canadians generally love to see their prime minister spar with a controversial world leader.
Sino-Canadian Relations Since the Huawei Incident
image source,LightRocket via Getty Images
The issue of Chinese espionage 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 CEO Meng Wanzhou in 2018. Beijing also later 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 RCMP arrested Wang Yusheng, a Chinese-born former employee of Hydro-Quebec, and charged him with espionage, evidence of tension. . did not calm down.
The RCMP said Wang Yusheng “obtained industrial secrets for the benefit of the People’s Republic of China and harmed the economic interests of Canada”.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Mao Ning said on Tuesday: “I don’t know anything about the situation. The Canadian side should handle the issue according to the law and not politicize it.”
Just a week before the opening of the G20 summit, Canadian Foreign Minister Jolie said in a speech that China was becoming more and more destructive, and said that it would strengthen relations with Taiwan, which caused Beijing’s dissatisfaction. China’s foreign ministry said it had lodged representations with Canada.
“China today is not what it was in 1970. China is an increasingly disruptive force. China is trying to shape an international environment in which interests and values are farther and farther away from us,” she said.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian responded, “The Canadian side’s statements on China are contrary to facts, full of ideological bias, and flagrantly interfere in China’s internal affairs.”
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