Chinese President Xi Jinping and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau held private talks this week on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Bali, Indonesia.
President of China Xi Jinping according to the Prime Minister of Canada Justin Trudeau acted improperly and fraudulently in telling the media about the content of private conversations between the executives.
– Everything we have discussed has been leaked to the media, and it is not appropriate, Xi told the Canadian Prime Minister through an interpreter at the G20 meeting in Bali.
The Chinese president’s outburst was captured on video shot by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.
There have been reports about it, for example BBC (switch to another service) and Reuters.
Trudeau replied to Xi that Canada is a free country that believes in the power of open dialogue.
– We will continue constructive cooperation, but there will inevitably be issues that we disagree on, Trudeau said.
The Chinese president’s irritation was probably caused by the fact that the Canadian prime minister had brought up espionage efforts related to China in his statement.
Espionage accusations are causing friction between China and Canada
China’s foreign ministry and state media have been tight-lipped about the meeting and have not released any information about the talks between Xi and Trudeau.
Canada’s foreign ministry also did not issue an official statement after the meeting, but Prime Minister Trudeau confirmed that he had spoken with Xi.
The leaders held a 10-minute informal discussion on the sidelines of the G20 summit on Tuesday. It was the first private meeting between a Canadian prime minister and a Chinese leader in three years.
After the meeting, Trudeau told the media that allegations of espionage and Chinese interference in Canadian elections are troubling.
Canada’s the police said on Monday (you will switch to another service), that an employee of Hydro-Quebec, the country’s largest electricity producer, is accused of espionage and an attempt to steal trade secrets for the benefit of China. The employee participated in the study of battery materials.
Canada also recently ordered three Chinese companies to divest from their investments in Canada’s critical minerals, citing national security concerns.
In addition, relations between China and Canada are still haunted by a years-long diplomatic dispute, centered on the CFO of the Chinese mobile phone giant Huawei Meng Wanzhou.