According to the Chinese side, the July 18–20 visit at the invitation of Beijing is meant to “enhance” relations between the two countries, while the Canadian side says it’s part of Canada’s commitment to engage “pragmatically with a wide range of countries.”
For one, Beijing is always wary of Western officials commenting on its human rights abuses, and tries its “soft diplomacy” approach and holding meetings as a way to subdue such statements.
Two hot-button issues for the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) occur during the summer months: the anniversary of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre on June 4, and the anniversary of the launch of the CCP’s persecution of Falun Gong on July 20, marked around the world by the spiritual discipline’s adherents each year.
On the geopolitical front, Sheng Xue, a Chinese affairs writer based in the Toronto area, says Ms. Joly’s trip comes as Beijing is facing a United States that is politically united in being vigilant against the CCP.
“The CCP is currently caught in a complex predicament and it’s finding it difficult to find a solution on its own,” Ms. Sheng told The Epoch Times.
“The CCP has been trying to find countries that can help them out of their predicament,” Ms. Sheng said.
Ms. Sheng notes that it was the Liberal government of Jean Chrétien that helped bring China out of isolation following the 1989 Tiananmen massacre, pursuing the “so-called ‘dialogue instead of confrontation’ policy to quickly establish a cooperative relationship with the Chinese Communist Party.”
“The democratic countries helped the CCP rise rapidly, resulting in the world being deeply infiltrated by the CCP and the COVID-19 pandemic,” she said.
David Mulroney, Canada’s former ambassador to China, says the United States has been engaging China “from a position of strength,” but the Canadian foreign minister’s visit amounts to a “kowtow” given the extent of the regime’s meddling in Canada.
Dire Economic Situation
The trip also comes at a time when China is struggling economically, beset by a long-term real estate crisis, sluggish growth, and declining foreign investment.“It’s a dire situation, and so it’s in their interest to have stronger economic ties with countries like Canada,” Margaret McCuaig-Johnston, a China expert and senior fellow at the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs of the University of Ottawa, said in an interview.
“That may partially explain the timing of this meeting now.”
Ms. McCuaig-Johnston adds that it has also been Ottawa itself that has been asking to have more open relations.
The relations between Ottawa and Beijing soured after Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou was arrested in Vancouver on a U.S. extradition request in late 2018. It resulted in China’s arrest of Canadian citizens Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, as well as the blocking of Canada’s export of canola and other products to China for a period of time.
“Minister Joly has been reaching out and saying publicly, sending signals to the regime in China, that she wants to improve relations,” Ms. McCuaig-Johnston said.
The scholar adds that another factor for the timing may be that China wants to pressure Canada on the ongoing scrutiny of Beijing’s interference, including multiple parliamentary committees and the ongoing Foreign Interference Commission overseen by Justice Marie-Josée Hogue.
“China may be choosing this time to send a message to Canada that they’re concerned about these investigations and about the Justice Hogue inquiry. But there’s no chance that that will have any impact at all on the investigations or the inquiry,” Ms. McCuaig-Johnston said.
The “language” that will come out of the meetings during Ms. Joly’s visit will be telling, Ms. McCuaig-Johnston adds.
“China has been talking with Australia and other countries like Canada of having more ‘stability’ in the relationship, and by that they mean that other countries have to cave in to China’s wishes,” she said.
“There doesn’t seem to be a culture in that country of joint collaboration, of meeting halfway, and that’s a concern.”
