Canada’s top diplomat said Wednesday that China is an “increasingly disruptive” global power ahead of a tour of Asia for the upcoming ASEAN, G20 and APEC summits.
“China is an increasingly disruptive global power,” said Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly. “It seeks to shape the global scenario towards one that is more permissive for interests and values that are increasingly diverging from ours,” he said.
“And China’s rise as a global player is changing the strategic outlook for all states in the region, including Canada,” he added.
Outlining Ottawa’s new policy roadmap, due to be released in the coming weeks, Joly said expanding relations with India and other countries in the region, as well as Taiwan , will be essential.
Joly has not discouraged further trade with China – now Canada’s second largest trading partner – despite strained diplomatic relations. But he warned Canadian companies that they “need to keep their eyes peeled” when doing business in and with China.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau this week denounced the “aggressive games” he said China is playing with democracy and Canadian institutions.
Bilateral relations deteriorated after the arrest of a Huawei executive in Canada in 2018 and the detention of two Canadians by Beijing in apparent retaliation. All three were released last year in agreement with US prosecutors.
Joly pledged that Ottawa would continue to speak out against China’s treatment of Uyghurs and other minorities, Hong Kong’s crackdown on free speech, military threats against Taiwan and any measures to restrict international navigation rights. In the region.
He also pointed to Canada’s growing military presence in the Pacific and that it will increase staff in its embassies to analyze the impacts of China’s policies and actions.
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), made up of a dozen countries in this region, meets from Friday to Sunday in Cambodia. The summit of the Group of 20 major economies (G20), which includes Brazil, Canada and Mexico, will be held on November 15-16 in Indonesia.
The summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum, which also brings together Mexico, Peru and Chile, will take place from November 16 to 19 in Thailand.
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