OTTAWA—U.S. President Joe Biden downplayed growing Russia-China ties in Ottawa on March 24, saying that many people “exaggerate the threat” the two countries pose, and that America’s alliances have “coalesced significantly more.”
“We have significantly expanded our alliances. I haven’t seen that happen with China, Russia, or anybody else in the world,” Biden said during a press conference alongside Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
“I don’t take Russia lightly, but I think we vastly exaggerate the threat.”
Biden’s comments were in relation to a recent three-day meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese Communist Party head Xi Jinping. The two leaders signed joint agreements on increasing economic cooperation and on “deepening the comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination for the new era.”
When Biden was asked his thoughts on why many countries were “choosing to form competing partnerships,” he responded that he “disagrees with the premise of the question.” The president highlighted the strength of several U.S.-led alliances, such as the NATO, G7, and the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue.
Biden said that according to his staffers, he has met with 80 percent of world leaders since becoming president in 2021, adding that “we’re the one expanding alliances, the opposition is not.”
“Tell me how, in fact, you see a circumstance where China has made some significant commitment to Russia. What commitment could they make, economically?” he said.
During Xi and Putin’s meetings, Russia committed to ship at least 98 billion cubic metres of liquified gas annually to China by 2030, a six-fold increase.
Biden said he has been hearing for several months that China would be providing “significant weapons to Russia.” Last month, U.S. defence officials said that China was weighing sending Russia drones and ammunition to assist with their war against Ukraine.
Funding for Haiti
Trudeau and Biden discussed the situation in Haiti during their meetings.Trudeau announced on the same day that the Canadian government will proide an additional $100 million for Haiti’s national Police Force, as well as impose additional sanctions on “two other members of the Haitian elite who are benefiting from instability and violence.”
Following the assassination of President Jovenel Moise in 2021, Haiti descended into a state of lawlessness, with several gangs vying for power. For months, the United States has been debating the proposal for a multilateral force to help Haiti’s national police fight the gangs.
Canada has been hesitant to become militarily involved in the country. Earlier this month, Chief of the Defence Staff Gen. Wayne Eyre said he doubted Canada could currently pull off a mission in Haiti, given its commitments in Europe.
Trudeau said at the press conference that Western forces have been attempting to stabilize Haiti for 30 years. “The situation is atrocious, it’s affecting the security of the people in Haiti, and we must take action,” he said.
Biden said the situation in Haiti is very difficult.
“The idea of how do we deal with what’s going on in Haiti, where gangs have essentially taken place in the government—they rule the roost, as they say.”
Biden said that Trudeau’s comments “make a lot of sense” as the best way to currently assist the country is to “increase the prospect of police departments in Haiti having the capacity to deal with the problems they face.” He said engaging with other countries in the region is also key to helping Haiti.
Biden added that any military action against Haiti would have to be done in consultation with the United Nations.
TikTok Ban, MP’s Resignation
Ottawa and the provinces recently banned the Chinese app TikTok on all government devices, citing concerns with cybersecurity. The U.S. federal government and over 28 American states have also banned downloading the app on government devices.Trudeau said during the press conference that his children also no longer have access to Tiktok, since their mobile devices are government-issued.
“That was a big frustration for them,” he said.
Trudeau said the government banned the app because of concerns with Beijing potentially having access to government data.
The prime minister was also asked whether he believed reports that Liberal MP Han Dong told a Chinese diplomat that Beijing should not release two Canadian citizens who had been arbitrarily detained in China.
A March 22 article by Global News, which cited national security sources, said Dong advised Chinese consul general in Toronto, Han Tao, to hold off on releasing Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, who had at that time been imprisoned in China for over two years. Their detention had followed the arrest of Huawei executive Meng Wenzhou in Canada on a U.S. extradition request.
“I’m taking this extraordinary step because to sit in the government caucus is a privilege, and my presence there may be seen by some as a conflict of duty, and the wrong place to be as independent investigations pursues the facts in this matter,” he said.
Trudeau said he “fully accepts” Dong stepping away from the caucus in order to “vigorously contest” the allegations.
“But I do want to take a step back and point out foreign interference, interference by authoritarian governments like China, Russia, Iran, and others, is a very real challenge to our democracies and it’s absolutely unacceptable,” he said.
“That is why over the past years Canada, like our allies around the world, has given itself new, rigorous tools to counter foreign interference,” he said.
Biden said he had no comment on the issue.
Trudeau has appointed former governor general David Johnston as a special rapporteur to look into the issue of foreign interference in recent elections. Opposition parties have demanded that a public inquiry be held to examine the issue, a request that the Liberal government has rejected.
