Quick Telecast
Expect News First

Trudeau was right to confront Xi but he did so for the wrong reasons

0 38


Trudeau made public his ‘serious concerns’ to get himself out of a jam at home — namely, that he sat on evidence China had meddled in the 2019 election

Get the latest from John Ivison straight to your inbox

Article content

OTTAWA — Justin Trudeau committed a breach of diplomatic protocol and Xi Jinping was expressing genuine indignation in their now infamous encounter on the fringes of a G20 meeting in Bali.

Advertisement 2

Article content

That was the opinion of a senior diplomat with decades of experience in these matters, and, incidentally, no great love for the Communist Party of China.

Article content

At these multilateral affairs, meetings are generally recognized as having taken place and a mutually agreed upon, typically anodyne read-out is issued of the topics discussed. In the absence of such an agreement, the meeting is not considered to have taken place and, therefore, should not be the subject of a blow-by-blow briefing to the media, as happened in this case. Officials travelling with Trudeau are credited with telling reporters that the prime minister challenged Xi about aggressive Chinese election interference.

Hence, when Xi rebuked Trudeau, saying it was “not appropriate” that the conversation had been leaked, the diplomat suggested the anger was real.

Advertisement 3

Article content

That may not be how democracy works — Trudeau defended his actions by saying Canada believes in “free and open and frank dialogue” — but it is how the diplomatic world spins.

I think it was totally legitimate for Trudeau to have raised the issue with Xi, but he made public his “serious concerns” to get himself out of a jam at home — namely, that he sat on evidence China had meddled in the 2019 election for months and did nothing until it was revealed by Global News.

Xi is said to have walked away from the encounter, muttering in Mandarin: “Very naive.”

In the context, it was exactly that. In the read-out of his meeting with Xi, President Joe Biden was blunt in his views on the U.S.-China relationship: America will compete vigorously with the People’s Republic but that competition should not veer into conflict and should be managed responsibly. That frankness produced a detente of sorts.

Advertisement 4

Article content

By contrast, Trudeau’s China policy has lurched from initial admiration to abandonment — after the prime minister was spurned during his visit in 2017 — and confusion.

By necessity, the days of trying to plough a furrow independent of either America or China are numbered. The government’s new Indo-Pacific strategy is expected within the month and Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly signalled what we can expect in a speech earlier this month. “In a world increasingly shaped by tension, trade is not only an economic driver but a geo-political tool,” she said.

Advertisement 5

Article content

The policy shift has not been driven by conviction but rather by the U.S. forcing its allies to make a choice — us or them. Export controls aimed at limiting trade with China have been introduced by the Americans on critical minerals and semiconductors, which are considered essential to national security. Companies in advanced computing and the microchip industry will be required to show that their products do not end up in China. As trade lawyer Lawrence Herman noted in a blog posting on the CD Howe website: “Semiconductors now loom large in strategic importance, displacing traditional commodities such as steel, lumber and even oil.”

Canada’s foreign policy is conditioned by the need to keep the Americans happy, balanced by the desire to appear to be setting an independent course. As such, the government has already signed a joint action plan on critical minerals and has effectively blocked the purchase of Canadian assets by state-owned enterprises. Ottawa has even ordered three Chinese companies to divest their investments in three Canadian junior lithium miners. At the same time, the U.S. military is talking to Canadian mining companies about potentially funding some critical mineral projects in Canada.

Advertisement 6

Article content

A global reconfiguration of trade is taking place, where Western democracies attempt to use China’s own tactic against it — in this case, the adoption of Chinese strategist and philosopher Sun Tzu’s advice to “subdue the enemy without fighting.”

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is rebuked by Chinese President Xi Jinping at the G20 summit on Wednesday for what Xi alleged was the leaking of details of a private conversation to the press.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is rebuked by Chinese President Xi Jinping at the G20 summit on Wednesday for what Xi alleged was the leaking of details of a private conversation to the press. Photo by Adam Scotti / Prime Minister’s Office / Handout via REUTERS.

As Joly told businesses in her speech: “As Canada’s top diplomat, my job is to tell you that there are geo-political risks linked to doing business with (China).”

The new strategy will also see Canada “answer the call from partners for greater engagement … do more to tackle foreign interference (and) increase our military presence,” she said.

Domestic considerations have driven foreign policy decisions. As the deputy prime minister noted in her fall update, the U.S. has “moved from a Buy American to a Buy North American policy” on critical minerals and electric vehicles, largely because Canada has proven subservient on export controls.

But Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act is a massive subsidization of other emerging technologies — hydrogen, carbon capture, clean fuels; Canadian policymakers called it a “game-changer” and a “gravitational black hole.”

Canada has to stay onside with the Americans and that means repudiating the Chinese.

In doing so, it is one thing to offer principled and unwavering diplomatic positions. It is another to try to score political points at home by needling your adversary unnecessarily. Naive, very naive.

[email protected]

Twitter.com/IvisonJ

Advertisement

Get the latest from John Ivison straight to your inbox

Comments

Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion and encourage all readers to share their views on our articles. Comments may take up to an hour for moderation before appearing on the site. We ask you to keep your comments relevant and respectful. We have enabled email notifications—you will now receive an email if you receive a reply to your comment, there is an update to a comment thread you follow or if a user you follow comments. Visit our Community Guidelines for more information and details on how to adjust your email settings.




Trudeau made public his ‘serious concerns’ to get himself out of a jam at home — namely, that he sat on evidence China had meddled in the 2019 election

Get the latest from John Ivison straight to your inbox

Article content

OTTAWA — Justin Trudeau committed a breach of diplomatic protocol and Xi Jinping was expressing genuine indignation in their now infamous encounter on the fringes of a G20 meeting in Bali.

Advertisement 2

Article content

That was the opinion of a senior diplomat with decades of experience in these matters, and, incidentally, no great love for the Communist Party of China.

Article content

At these multilateral affairs, meetings are generally recognized as having taken place and a mutually agreed upon, typically anodyne read-out is issued of the topics discussed. In the absence of such an agreement, the meeting is not considered to have taken place and, therefore, should not be the subject of a blow-by-blow briefing to the media, as happened in this case. Officials travelling with Trudeau are credited with telling reporters that the prime minister challenged Xi about aggressive Chinese election interference.

Hence, when Xi rebuked Trudeau, saying it was “not appropriate” that the conversation had been leaked, the diplomat suggested the anger was real.

Advertisement 3

Article content

That may not be how democracy works — Trudeau defended his actions by saying Canada believes in “free and open and frank dialogue” — but it is how the diplomatic world spins.

I think it was totally legitimate for Trudeau to have raised the issue with Xi, but he made public his “serious concerns” to get himself out of a jam at home — namely, that he sat on evidence China had meddled in the 2019 election for months and did nothing until it was revealed by Global News.

Xi is said to have walked away from the encounter, muttering in Mandarin: “Very naive.”

In the context, it was exactly that. In the read-out of his meeting with Xi, President Joe Biden was blunt in his views on the U.S.-China relationship: America will compete vigorously with the People’s Republic but that competition should not veer into conflict and should be managed responsibly. That frankness produced a detente of sorts.

Advertisement 4

Article content

By contrast, Trudeau’s China policy has lurched from initial admiration to abandonment — after the prime minister was spurned during his visit in 2017 — and confusion.

By necessity, the days of trying to plough a furrow independent of either America or China are numbered. The government’s new Indo-Pacific strategy is expected within the month and Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly signalled what we can expect in a speech earlier this month. “In a world increasingly shaped by tension, trade is not only an economic driver but a geo-political tool,” she said.

Advertisement 5

Article content

The policy shift has not been driven by conviction but rather by the U.S. forcing its allies to make a choice — us or them. Export controls aimed at limiting trade with China have been introduced by the Americans on critical minerals and semiconductors, which are considered essential to national security. Companies in advanced computing and the microchip industry will be required to show that their products do not end up in China. As trade lawyer Lawrence Herman noted in a blog posting on the CD Howe website: “Semiconductors now loom large in strategic importance, displacing traditional commodities such as steel, lumber and even oil.”

Canada’s foreign policy is conditioned by the need to keep the Americans happy, balanced by the desire to appear to be setting an independent course. As such, the government has already signed a joint action plan on critical minerals and has effectively blocked the purchase of Canadian assets by state-owned enterprises. Ottawa has even ordered three Chinese companies to divest their investments in three Canadian junior lithium miners. At the same time, the U.S. military is talking to Canadian mining companies about potentially funding some critical mineral projects in Canada.

Advertisement 6

Article content

A global reconfiguration of trade is taking place, where Western democracies attempt to use China’s own tactic against it — in this case, the adoption of Chinese strategist and philosopher Sun Tzu’s advice to “subdue the enemy without fighting.”

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is rebuked by Chinese President Xi Jinping at the G20 summit on Wednesday for what Xi alleged was the leaking of details of a private conversation to the press.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is rebuked by Chinese President Xi Jinping at the G20 summit on Wednesday for what Xi alleged was the leaking of details of a private conversation to the press. Photo by Adam Scotti / Prime Minister’s Office / Handout via REUTERS.

As Joly told businesses in her speech: “As Canada’s top diplomat, my job is to tell you that there are geo-political risks linked to doing business with (China).”

The new strategy will also see Canada “answer the call from partners for greater engagement … do more to tackle foreign interference (and) increase our military presence,” she said.

Domestic considerations have driven foreign policy decisions. As the deputy prime minister noted in her fall update, the U.S. has “moved from a Buy American to a Buy North American policy” on critical minerals and electric vehicles, largely because Canada has proven subservient on export controls.

But Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act is a massive subsidization of other emerging technologies — hydrogen, carbon capture, clean fuels; Canadian policymakers called it a “game-changer” and a “gravitational black hole.”

Canada has to stay onside with the Americans and that means repudiating the Chinese.

In doing so, it is one thing to offer principled and unwavering diplomatic positions. It is another to try to score political points at home by needling your adversary unnecessarily. Naive, very naive.

[email protected]

Twitter.com/IvisonJ

Advertisement

Get the latest from John Ivison straight to your inbox

Comments

Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion and encourage all readers to share their views on our articles. Comments may take up to an hour for moderation before appearing on the site. We ask you to keep your comments relevant and respectful. We have enabled email notifications—you will now receive an email if you receive a reply to your comment, there is an update to a comment thread you follow or if a user you follow comments. Visit our Community Guidelines for more information and details on how to adjust your email settings.

FOLLOW US ON GOOGLE NEWS

Read original article here

Denial of responsibility! Quick Telecast is an automatic aggregator of the all world’s media. In each content, the hyperlink to the primary source is specified. All trademarks belong to their rightful owners, all materials to their authors. If you are the owner of the content and do not want us to publish your materials, please contact us by email – [email protected]. The content will be deleted within 24 hours.

Leave a comment
Ads Blocker Image Powered by Code Help Pro

Ads Blocker Detected!!!

We have detected that you are using extensions to block ads. Please support us by disabling these ads blocker.

buy kamagra buy kamagra online