Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudo told local media in a year-end interview that Western democracies must be united against China, which is trying to “face us up.”
“We need to work better together and be strong so that China cannot, you know, schema and divide us against each other,” Trudo told Global Television.
The Canadian prime minister acknowledged that Western countries often compete for access to China’s vast market, often allowing Beijing to dictate terms.
“We compete, and China occasionally clashes with us very cleverly in open market competition,” he said.
Trudo said the West must be united “so that China cannot schema and divide us against each other” and use “forced diplomacy.”
Relations between Canada and China escalated in December 2018 when Canada arrested Menu Wenzhou, the financial director of Chinese telecommunications equipment maker Huawei, for extradition in the United States on charges of violating sanctions against Iran.
China responded by detaining former Canadian diplomat Michael Kovrig and businessman Michael Spavor. Beijing accused both Canadians of espionage.
All three were released in September after Mena reached an agreement with the US prosecutor’s office ending the struggle for extradition.
Canada joined the United States and several other countries this month, announcing a diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Olympics in February. The boycott is linked to allegations of human rights abuses against China.-
Canada is also considering banning the use of Huawei’s technology on 5G networks in the country.
– .
