Canada, China pledge to mend relations after foreign affairs ministers meet in Beijing
Tibet, Hong Kong, Taiwan and the Uyghurs' plight are 'internal affairs,' China says
Canada and China pledged to advance relations in a "pragmatic" manner on Friday, as the two countries move to stabilize bilateral ties following more than six years of frosty relations over the imprisonment of two Canadian citizens.
Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met in Beijing — the first face-to-face talks in China's capital involving a Canadian foreign minister since 2017.
"The two ministers took note of recent positive developments in relations, including the resumption of consular consultations, and the recent exchanges at senior levels," says a readout — or summary — of the meeting released by Global Affairs Canada. "Minister Joly's visit reaffirms the minister's commitment to pragmatic engagement with China and the development of sound and stable bilateral relations."
The statement goes on to say that China "indicated a willingness to explore opportunities to strengthen engagement" on such issues as climate and the environment, curbing the fentanyl crisis and working to improve trade relations.
The Chinese foreign ministry's own readout echoed the Canadian side's description of the talks. "It is in the fundamental interests of both countries and peoples to maintain and develop good bilateral relations," said the statement, translated by CBC News.
"As two major countries with important influence in the Asia-Pacific region, both countries share extensive common interests and complementary advantages."
Henri-Paul Normandin, a former Canadian diplomat who was posted to China, said Friday's meeting is the first step in repairing the rift.
"It strikes me that the readout from the Chinese side of the meeting is rather positive in tone," Normandin told CBC News.
"The significance of the meeting lies in the simple fact that it took place and channels of communication have been reopened.
"The meeting does not imply that the tensions and the issues that are out there are going to be solved in the near to medium term. The issues are there. There will have to be more discussions. There might be progress, but at least now some channels of communications have been opened."
Friday's meeting is an attempt by Ottawa to reset relations with the world's second-biggest economy, which deteriorated after the December 2018 detention of Canadians Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor by Beijing.
Their arrests were widely seen as retaliation for the Vancouver arrest of Huawei's chief financial officer, Meng Wanzhou, at the behest of the U.S. to face fraud charges related to American sanctions against Iran.
Although all three were released in 2021, the two countries have continued to butt heads.
Wang told Joly on Friday that "China-Canada relations have experienced difficulties and twists and turns in recent years, which is not something China would like to see," without explicitly mentioning Meng's arrest and the subsequent imprisonment of Kovrig and Spavor — detentions Canada maintains were arbitrary. "It requires serious reflection from Canada."
Yet the statement released by China following Friday's meeting was remarkable because it was devoid of the strongly worded attacks and overt animosity toward Canada that have been typical of official statements by Beijing over the past six years.
Instead, Friday's 800-word readout was more measured and diplomatic.
"China-Canada relations have long been at the forefront of China's relations with Western countries," the statement read. "There is no fundamental conflict of interest between China and Canada."
After the sit-down in China's capital city, a senior Canadian government source described the ministers as having held a "constructive and productive meeting."
The meeting "achieved the goals that we [Canada] set out to achieve on the bilateral front," the source told CBC News. "We wanted to voice our concerns. And we wanted to work on things of common interest between Chinese people and Canadian people."
Both sides voiced their concerns about irritants between the two countries during Friday's talk.
The Canadian source told CBC News that Joly brought up the issue of reports of Chinese political interference in this country's politics.
Canada's spy agency has said it believes the Chinese government interfered in both the 2019 and 2021 federal elections. China is also accused of setting up "police stations" to intimidate and track the Chinese diaspora in Canada and of targeting the family of Conservative MP Michael Chong, who has been critical of China's treatment of its Uyghur Muslim minority in Xinjiang province.
While China says it is seeking improved relations, its official statement also says that some issues are not open for debate.
"Issues related to Taiwan, Tibet, Xinjiang, and Hong Kong are all China's internal affairs and no external interference is allowed," the statement said.
Human Rights Watch says at least one million Uyghurs and other Muslims in Xinjiang have been arbitrarily detained in what China calls "re-education" or "vocational training" camps, in prisons or "pre-trial detention" facilities.
In 2021, a majority of MPs — including most Liberals who participated — voted for a Conservative motion declaring that China's actions in the western Xinjiang region meet the definition of genocide set out in the 1948 United Nations Genocide Convention.
The final tally was 266 in favour and zero opposed. Two MPs formally abstained. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and almost all of his cabinet colleagues were absent for the vote.
Good example of diplomacy
Guy Saint-Jacques, former Canadian ambassador to China from 2012 to 2016, said Joly raising thorny topics such as election meddling with her Chinese counterpart is a "good example" of diplomacy.
"Diplomacy doesn't mean you only meet with people you agree with," the retired diplomat said in an interview with CBC's Power & Politics. "Taking into account the importance of China, I think it was important for Minister Joly to meet, to raise those difficult issues, to talk about Canadian expectations."
Saint-Jacques said he found it "positive" that both countries agree there could be progress made in terms of trade. He points out that there is pressure domestically in China to turn its sputtering economy around.
"The Chinese side agreed to meet with Minister Joly, despite the fact that they are very angry," he said, referring to the ongoing public inquiry investigating foreign interference and prospects of Canadian tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles.
"I think this shows that China recognizes that they have to make some concessions on their side to try to rebuild the trust [with Canada]," Saint-Jacques said.
"We are not really back to normal in terms of the relationship. But at least there is a dialogue, and there is a commitment to continue this dialogue."
With files from Kate McKenna and David Thurton