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- BBC News World
Chinese President Xi Jinping was filmed accusing Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of leaking details of their meeting, days after holding a conversation at the G20 summit in Bali.
Xi Jinping told Trudeau, through a translator, that it was inappropriate and accused him of insincerity”.
Xi accuses Trudeau of leaking details of China-Canada relations to the media
He was most likely referring to reports that Trudeau raised the issue of espionage and Chinese interference in Canadian elections during the conversation.
The talks, which took place behind closed doors, were the first in years between the two leaders.
In the video, filmed by reporters covering the just-concluded summit in Indonesia, Xi and Trudeau can be seen standing, conversing through a translator.
“Everything we discussed was leaked in the newspapers and it’s not appropriate,” the Chinese president told his counterpart in Mandarin.
The situation captures a rare moment of spontaneity from President Xiwhose image is normally carefully controlled by Chinese state media.
After smiling and nodding, the Canadian Prime Minister responded by saying that “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 things we will not agree on,” he added.
Before Trudeau could finish, Xi interrupted him to ask him to “create the conditions first,” then shake hands with his counterpart and they walked away.
image sources, Getty Images
Xi Jinping (here with Indonesian President Joko Widodo) attended the G20 summit in Bali.
Tensions between China and Canada
A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman played down the incident, describing it as a normal exchange that should not be construed as criticism or accusation against anyone.
Spokeswoman Mao Ning added that Beijing supports frank exchanges as long as they take place on an equal footing.
The short but revealing exchange brought to light tensions between China and Canada, which have intensified since the arrest of tech firm Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou in 2018 and China’s subsequent arrest of two Canadians on espionage charges. All three were later released.
However, tensions recently erupted after Yuesheng Wang, an employee of the Hydro-Quebec utility, was arrested on charges of espionage.
Want “to have obtained trade secrets for the benefit of the People’s Republic of China, to the detriment of the economic interests of Canada,” Canadian police said in a statement.
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