Bloc Leader Blanchet Met With Chinese Ambassador, Says ‘Not Meant to Be Friends’

Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet speaks in the foyer of the House of Commons in Ottawa on March 9, 2023. (The Canadian Press/Justin Tang)

Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet said he went into a meeting with the Chinese ambassador without being “naive” and spoke of a “huge gap” existing between the parties.

“We discussed trade and culture, and human rights a little bit, and self-determination a little bit, and environment also,” Blanchet said in a press conference in Ottawa on Aug. 15.

The Bloc leader spoke of a “huge gap between the way we see each other” and said it’s “even worse” in the case of the Bloc.

“We clearly are the more sincerely committed to the self-determination rights of people and nations, including Tibet, including Taiwan, including Uyghyrs. So we are not meant to be friends.”

The Bloc leader said his party is very close to those communities and in almost daily contact with them. He added there could be no compromise with China on the issue of self-determination and human rights.

The Bloc is a separatist party that maintains links with other political movements or parties seeking independence, such as in Spain’s Catalonia region.

Despite a lack of common ground on the topic, Blanchet spoke of a “very interesting” and “cordial” meeting between him and Ambassador Wang Di, who was appointed by Beijing to replace Cong Peiwu in July.

Blanchet said he doesn’t know why the Chinese embassy invited him for a meeting before other leaders, adding it’s normal they want to meet with political stakeholders. “I wouldn’t attend a celebration tomorrow morning, but at the formal level I think we have the duty to fuel this type of conversation.”

Along with discussing minority rights, Blanchet said the issue of foreign interference was also raised and noted it’s where the ambassador was least transparent. The Bloc leader relayed that Wang denied China being involved in any kind of interference anywhere in the world.

Blanchet said that there’s an ongoing public inquiry looking into the matter. “I would be surprised if China was absolved of all reproach,” he said.

The Foreign Interference Commission released an interim report in May, saying the “intelligence collected by Canada indicates that the People’s Republic of China (‘PRC’) stands out as a main perpetrator of foreign interference against Canada.”

Beijing’s invitation to Blanchet follows a more formal rapprochement with Ottawa.

Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly was in China in July, the first high-level meeting in years. This followed Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault’s visit a year earlier to attend an environment forum.

The last ministerial visit before that was in 2019. Relations between Ottawa and Beijing soured in late 2018 with the arrest of Huawei executive Meng Wangzhou on a U.S. extradition warrant. Beijing subsequently arbitrarily detained Canadians Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor.

Blanchet said he has the impression that Wang wants to “set the tone” of a post-Michael and post-Huawei period.