Canada ambassador to China says relations at 'yellow light' but not adversarial

Jennifer May, Canada's ambassador to China, is shown in Ottawa, on Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2022. (Justin Tang / The Canadian Press)

Canada's ambassador to China says Ottawa's "complex" relationship with Beijing means some facets of the relationship are speeding along while others are in reverse.

"The analogy I constantly use while advising Canadian companies looking to do business in China is that of the yellow light," Jennifer May said in a French-language speech this week.

May told the Montreal Council on Foreign Relations that Canada no longer faces the green light of "business as usual" with China, but it's also past what she called the red-light scenario of 2018, when China detained Canadian citizens Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor.

Beijing jailed the pair for 1,019 days following the arrest and detention of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou in Vancouver at the request of the United States. Since then, Canadians continue to say in surveys they worry about being arbitrarily arrested in China.

In late 2022, Ottawa released its Indo-Pacific strategy, which stated that China "is an increasingly disruptive global power."

In her speech Monday, May said that doesn't mean Canada can't work with Beijing.

"Canada does not view China as an adversary," she said. "Rather, it is a country that presents both challenges and opportunities, requiring careful management and strategic thinking."

May said Canadian energy companies are making inroads in China, while others in sectors like agriculture find themselves blocked by what she called Beijing's arbitrary measures. She noted there have been restrictions lasting more than two years on imports of certain types of Canadian beef and animal food containing chicken.

This month, China launched a complaint at the World Trade Organization and launched its own anti-dumping investigation into Canadian canola imports. That was in response to Canada's decision in August to hike tariffs on Chinese-made electric vehicles. Ottawa is now considering further tariffs on energy goods like batteries.

May said the spat "highlights the risks that Canadian companies operating in China face" and the need to diversify exports to other countries. Ottawa says its own restrictions are meant to protect Canada from subsidies that undermine domestic manufacturing, and that they align with peer countries.

The ambassador noted that China "fiercely protects" its interests with trade restrictions enacted on national security grounds. "The difference is that we are transparent," she insisted. "We ensure that Canadian and Chinese stakeholders know where the line is."

She said Chinese officials are chafed by the ongoing foreign interference inquiry, which she said is meant to address concerns that are hugely important to Canadians.

"In my discussions with Chinese officials, as well as in my public interventions, I have made it clear that these hearings will continue to be a source of discomfort for the Chinese government," she said.

The hearings, and the decision to block certain Chinese institutions from collaborating with Canadian academics "were not intended to be confrontational, but to seek to defend the principles that underpin our democratic society," May said.

Canada can't deny real disagreements on values and economic measures, she said, "but we shouldn't always put that at the front."

Similarly, the recent tariffs are a source of tension, but "we shouldn't say it is going to harm the whole relationship," she said.

Her remarks resemble a request that senior Chinese officials have repeated since January, for Canada "not to let differences dominate bilateral relations," but rather focus on "win-win co-operation."

May argued Canada has more to gain by "pragmatically" engaging with China than cutting off ties.

"Our approach is about finding common ground where possible, while remaining firm on the issues that matter to Canadians," she said.

She said being in China has allowed her to visit the Xinjiang region, where the United Nations found in 2022 that China committed serious human rights violations against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities that "may constitute international crimes, in particular crimes against humanity." Beijing vehemently disputes those claims, but May said she has been able to raise human rights concerns directly with Chinese officials.

May said she similarly can call out China's support for Russia's military-industrial complex, which has fuelled its invasion of Ukraine.

China is thus "a complicated dance partner" for Canada, with the countries going forward, backwards and around "which leads us to occasionally step on each other's toes."

She noted collaboration with China on issues like the environment, with both countries co-hosting a summit in Montreal on biodiversity in 2022.

May also revealed that a meeting between Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly and her counterpart Wang Yi in Beijing last July lasted five hours.

"Minister Joly's recent visit demonstrated that we are committed to working with China to develop healthy and stable bilateral relations that pragmatically advance our interests, contribute to security and stability, and enhance our deep and historical people-to-people ties," she said.

"Minister Wang Yi has shown himself open on several occasions on many issues we've discussed."

She said that included tricky issues like Canadian consular issues, the flow of toxic drug components and human rights.

"They took the time to look at what is the state of our relations now, what are the interests of both sides and where and how we can move forward," she said.

May said China changes rapidly. She described Beijing going from a smoke-filled capital to one with clean air and green trees, and a rapid shift from cash to mobile payment. At the same time, control over free speech and national security laws has vastly expanded, she said.

That pace of change can be seen in China's recent economic downturn, which she said is more of a worry for her embassy than the state of bilateral relations.

"This is the first time, not just (in) one generation, but several generations that we have experienced a decrease in the speed of China's growth," she said, something that locally employed embassy staff feel firsthand.

"This is the first time that they see friends losing their jobs...that they don't see their apartments going up, up, up in value."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 18, 2024.