Tensions between China and the West have been simmering for years. The parties no longer hide their pronounced differences and each strives to counteract the influence of the other. Although the United States is Beijing's main geopolitical adversary, it is not the only country facing China's supremacist appetite. Canadaa historic partner and ally of Washington, is also on the list of nations warning of the danger that Chinese growth represents on a global level.

Since 2018, relations between China and Canada have been going through one of the worst moments in their history.

On December 1st of the same year Meng WanzhouThe daughter of the founder of Chinese technology company Huawei, was arrested during a stopover in Vancouver, sparking a deep diplomatic crisis between Canada, China and the United States.

The Chinese leader had been detained under an international arrest warrant, accused of bank and wire fraud, in response to a request from the United States, which also sought her extradition from the Canadian justice system.

Meng, who worked at Huawei as its chief financial officer, has been charged by the United States with lying to HSBC bank about the tech giant's relationship with Skycoma company accused of negotiating with Iran to sell communications equipment, violating international sanctions on the theocratic regime.

She posted $1 million bail to avoid extradition to the United States, but was forced to serve three years of house arrest in Canada. After serving his sentence in 2021, he returned to China.

The case was dismissed after he reached a plea deal with the U.S. Department of Justice, in which he admitted to irregularities in his reporting to HSBC. The U.S. Attorney's Office later dropped the charges.

But The case left scars and has completely decimated relations between China and Canada.

The temperature rose again last year after Canadian intelligence sources informed Justin Trudeau's government of the Xi Jinping regime's interference in the 2019 and 2021 election campaigns. As Canadian agents discovered, Beijing allegedly managed to infiltrate Chinese advisers to some candidates' campaigns while making donations to the campaign offices of several MPs.

After analyzing intelligence information, Trudeau accused the Chinese regime of “aggressively interfering” in Canada's electoral processes: “We have taken significant steps to strengthen the integrity of our electoral processes and we will continue to invest in the fight against interference, against foreign interference in our democracy and our institutions (…) “Unfortunately, we see how certain countries and state actors, whether China or others, continue to play aggressively with our democracies.”

China, however, has denied the accusations.

The issue was raised in November last year during a private meeting between Trudeau and Xi Jinping as part of the G20 summit in Bali. The first face-to-face meeting between the two leaders since 2019. The Canadian prime minister told reporters he had discussed the issue with the Chinese president. However, this embarrassed the leader of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and a tense – and unusual – exchange took place during the summit on the Asian island.

The moment was captured by reporters covering the forum. Xi Jinping, through a translator, told Trudeau it was inappropriate and accused him of lacking “sincerity.” “Everything we discussed was leaked to the newspapers and that is not appropriate”the Chinese president told his counterpart in Mandarin.

After listening carefully, Trudeau responded: “In Canada, we believe in frank and open dialogue and that is what we will continue to have. “We will continue to seek to work together constructively, but there will be points on which we will disagree.”

Xi interrupted him and told him to “create the conditions” first. He then shook his hand and left.

Almost six months have passed since this tense situation, and China and Canada are once again at the centre of the international stage.

This week, the Trudeau government expelled Chinese diplomat in Ottawa, Zhao Wei, for alleged interference in the North American country's internal affairs.

Authorities took the measure following allegations that Chinese intelligence services were considering sanctioning the MP. Michael Chong and his relatives in Hong Kong for leading a motion condemning China's human rights violations in the Xinjiang region against the Uighur minority, calling them genocide.

Canadian media reported that, according to intelligence findings, Zhao was involved in an attempt to locate Chong's relatives who were allegedly living in Hong Kong.

Beijing's response was immediate, announcing on Tuesday that it would expel the Canadian consul from the Canadian Consulate General in Shanghai.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry said the Canadian diplomat Jennifer Lynn Lalon of “persona non grata” and gave him five days to leave the country.

The Asian giant's foreign ministry also warned that it reserved the right to take further measures.

For its part, the Canadian Gendarmerie recently reported that “actively investigating” alleged existence of Chinese “police stations” in the countryused by undercover agents to monitor all movements of Canadian citizens of Chinese origin: “This or any other type of intimidation, harassment or attack against diaspora communities or individuals in Canada will not be tolerated.”

The latest cases further strain already-fragile diplomatic relations between Beijing and Ottawa. It’s unclear what the next steps will be for either side. For now, at the end of the month, Trudeau will receive a recommendation from a special rapporteur on whether accusations of Chinese interference in the 2019 and 2021 elections warrant a public inquiry.

The Canadian Prime Minister announced that whatever decisions are made, his government will not allow itself to be “intimidated” by China. “We decided that we had to move forward in a responsible way to send a very clear message that we will not accept foreign interference and that whatever decisions they make next, we will not be intimidated,” he said after Beijing accused his government of trying to “sabotage” bilateral relations.

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