Canada can’t be ‘naïve,’ must overhaul relationship with China: former ambassador

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) — Now that Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig are back in Canada, and the federal election is over, a former Canadian ambassador to China says Canada needs to overhaul how it deals with the Chinese government.

Guy Saint-Jacques says Canada must “stop being naïve and recognize China has changed a great deal.”

“The approach that was followed by the Prime Minister up until the arrest of the two Micheals, was, in my view, outdated, a bit naïve. It certainly did not take into account the direction that (Chinese President) Xi Jinping was giving to the country,” he told NEWS 1130. “I would say we have learned a lot in the last three years in this sad episode in our relations. For instance the genocide (of Uyghurs) in Xinjiang, the disappearance of democracy in Hong Kong, what China is doing in the South China Sea, the pressure applied on the bad management of the pandemic on the onset.”

Calling the detention and trial of the two Michaels “hostage diplomacy” in retaliation for the detention of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou, Saint-Jacques says Canada must be more strategic in its approach to the Chinese government and work with allies to develop common, unified strategies.

Since it was introduced in February, 58 nations have signed onto a Canadian-led declaration against arbitrary detention in state-to-state relations, a joint condemnation of hostage diplomacy.

“This is what they fear most: That Western countries will get together,” Saint-Jacques said. “And I think in hostage diplomacy, we have to step further. After the adoption of this declaration on hostage taking that was signed in February, we have to instrumentalize it, saying it should be applied to China if it dares to do this again.”

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Saint-Jacques says the Canadian government needs to stop treating China like it is a major source of trade and fearing economic woes should it stand up to the nation.

“We export only five per cent of our exports (to China) and let’s remember that China also needs goods,” he said. “Nineteen per cent of their GDP comes from exports. Especially if we work with partners, we can force China to change.”

On Saturday, China’s state controlled media outlet Xinhua News tweeted a message celebrating the release of Meng saying, “She was arrested because of a rising China. So was her release!”

However, Saint-Jacques says while the message is one of nationalism, it also shows insecurity on the part of the Chinese government as it tries to gain and maintain power on the international scene.

Trudeau’s Liberal party was fairly quiet about China during the federal election, Saint-Jacques says, but he is hopeful Canada will be more vocal now that campaigning is over.

“The message to China should be, ‘We have no problem with you being a superpower so long as you play by the game’s [rules], so long as you respect international treaties and you don’t look at international law as a menu where you will pick this, but reject that,” he said. “We have to be more firm and strong. This is the only language that China understands.”