China announced on Tuesday that it would expel the Canadian consul in Shanghai in retaliation for the same measure ordered by Ottawa against a Chinese diplomat.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry has declared Canadian diplomat Jennifer Lynn Lalonde “persona non grata” and given her until May 13 to leave the country.

According to Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin, this measure “is entirely necessary and aims to protect their legitimate interests and rights.”

“China never interferes in the internal affairs of other countries. The so-called Chinese interference in Canada makes no sense and constitutes political manipulation based on ideology,” Wang said.

This announcement comes a day after Canada expelled the Chinese ambassador to Ottawa for “interference in internal affairs” after being accused by several Canadian media of trying to intimidate the family of an MP.

“I have been very clear: we will not tolerate any form of foreign interference in our internal affairs. Diplomats in Canada have been told that if they engage in this type of behavior, they will be sent home,” announced the Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mélanie. Joly, in a press release.

Relations between the two countries have deteriorated since 2018 after the arrest in Canada of a senior executive of Chinese technology company Huawei and the detention of two Canadians in China in retaliation.

The three detainees were released, but tensions persist and Beijing accuses Ottawa of aligning itself with the policy that the United States maintains towards China and Canadian authorities periodically accuse China of interference.

This new crisis began after the Canadian newspaper “The Globe and Mail” reported that Canadian Conservative MP Michael Chong and his family, who lives in Hong Kong, were allegedly under pressure from China.

The newspaper said Chong was in the crosshairs of Chinese intelligence because the lawmaker sponsored a motion to declare Beijing's actions in the Xinjiang region as genocide against the Uyghurs, a predominantly Muslim minority.