Canada-China Brief: Joly speaks with Wang Yi, foreign influence registry revived & more

This week's edition covers Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly's phonecall with China's Wang Yi amid talk of a 'restart' as well as the reintroduction of a foreign influence registry in a proposed Conservative Senate bill. This brief will take into account both Canadian and Chinese perspectives on the state of the bilateral relationship.

First, here's the latest from our affiliated experts at IPD:

IPD's Roundup

When the South says no to the North

In Le Devoir, IPD Advisor Jocelyn Coulon penned an op-ed (in French) on the Global South's refrain from following Western sanctions on Moscow. Observing New Delhi, he noted that "despite its strategic rapprochement with the United States, Japan, and Australia in the Quad, which is to stand up to China, India has become the leader of the anti-Western slingshot."

From Our Experts

On Minister Joly's call with Wang Yi:

The security and foreign policy crisis posed by the war in Ukraine provided the catalyst for the conversation. The readouts from the meeting were taken directly from the current Canada-China bilateral relations playbook. Both sides acknowledged that the relationship was at a low point... Importantly, and this is the big take-away, both sides agreed to keep the channels of communication open.

On Ukraine, the Canadian side asked China to take a stance against Russia's aggression, as opposed to the current neutralist approach. Canada may also have requested China to exercise its influence with Putin to attempt to put a stop to the conflict... However, these kinds of discussions necessarily take place only in private, and even if China cared to announce that they were talking, they would certainly not convey that news through a readout from a meeting with Canada.

— Susan Gregson, Advisor, Institute for Peace & Diplomacy; former Assistant Deputy Minister, Asia-Pacific, Global Affairs Canada

On parliamentary debates over a foreign influence registry:

A foreign influence registry, if it is serving the Canadian national interest without being used as a tool of racial profiling, should be a welcome measure. But [former MP] Kenny Chiu claimed that he lost his seat in the last federal election because he proposed a bill on a foreign influence registry and was attacked by Chinese government-backed forces.

Chiu and the mainstream press who reported on his story have shown no credible evidence to back up such claims. To call Chiu a liar is not a good way of serious discourse, but unless Chiu backs up his accusations with solid proof, he does a disservice to the voters in his riding.

— Wenran Jiang, Advisor, Institute for Peace & Diplomacy

Top Stories

Wang Yi takes first call from Joly on potential 'restart'

Canada's foreign minister held her first talks with her Chinese counterpart since taking office in a call that China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said came at Joly's request. Summaries on both sides emphasized different aspects of the meeting.

What Pearson said — The readout from Global Affairs Canada underlined Joly's advocacy on Ukraine and the state of bilateral relations:

• "She highlighted that all countries should denounce Putin’s illegal and unprovoked invasion... [noting] that Canada and the world are closely looking at China’s actions and next steps."
• Both "discussed the challenges of recent years, including cases of arbitrary detention" while Joly "reiterated Canada’s concerns with ongoing human rights violations in China, including in Xinjiang" and how Ottawa would continue to be internationally consistent.

Beijing offers 3-point proposal — China's readout went at length to describe Wang's proposal for Canada to "meet the Chinese side halfway" including:

• First, a need to "take a positive and objective view of China and pursue a prudent and pragmatic China policy" as "China and Canada have neither historical disputes nor real conflicts of interest."
• Second, a call to "respect each other's core interests" with particular reference to Taiwan where Wang warned that relations could "suffer fundamental damage" if "not handled properly."
• Third, for Ottawa to "uphold independence and eliminate unnecessary external interference" where Wang had earlier singled out Washington and for Canada to refrain from "playing the jackal to the tiger."

Leaving the door open — Both sides highlighted that talking to one another was necessary going forward:

• GAC said both discussed "the importance of frank dialogue... [and] avenues of collaboration between the two countries on areas of mutual interest" as both "agreed to keep communication channels open."
• On Beijing's end, it noted that "Joly said that Canada is ready to work with China to bring Canada-China relations gradually back on the right track and build a more resilient bilateral relationship on the basis of treating each other with candidness and respect, and in a forward-looking spirit."

A restart? — Anonymous sources within the public service described internal details of the call in reporting for the National Post:

• A senior official in attendance spoke of the conversation's tone as “straightforward” but "not confrontational" and that Joly's request for the call was a signal of a "careful restart" in the relationship.
• Guy Saint-Jacques, Canada's former ambassador to China, said it was "good news" and "very important" that the call happened but that Canada needed to express more "firmness."

Senate reintroduces foreign influence registry amid Tory infighting

Conservative Senator Leo Housakos moved Bill S-237 to a second reading in the Red Chamber. With an eye on China, the bill is an attempted revival of a foreign influence registry put forward by defeated MP Kenny Chiu.

What's in it — Entitled the 'Foreign Influence Registry and Accountability Bill', the proposal:

• Establishes a mandatory registry for Canadians that speak to public servants but are "acting or [are] under the obligation" of a "foreign government or foreign political organization [that] is in a position to exercise, in any other way, total or substantial control over the individual."
• Punishes Canadians who fail to register with prison terms of six months to two years or fines of up to $200,000 while amending the Criminal Code to target those guilty of "compelling" Canadians.

Cross-partisan criticism — The bill and the accusation that Chiu lost his seat due to Chinese interference triggered debate across and within party lines:

• Independent Senator Yuen Pau Woo asked whether "any Canadian, whether a recent immigrant from China or anyone else, representing any Chinese organization, institution or entity in China" would be covered.
• In response, Housakos said that "any entity that is connected to this tyrannical regime in Beijing would be covered, yes. The answer is yes. I’m not hiding from that reality."
• Tory Senator Victor Oh recalled conversations with Chiu, telling him "you have to work for your community, your constituents... not Foreign Affairs" and that he "warned him many times."
• In more contentious remarks, Oh recounted telling Chiu "you are claiming that you have Chinese agent influence that sabotaged you" and added that "that’s not true" — Oh later walked back remarks calling Chiu a "liar."

China in Tory party review — A post-election report commissioned by the Conservatives reflected on losses among Chinese Canadians:

• Members familiar with the review earlier this year reported it said "messaging failed to distinguish between criticism of the Chinese Communist Party and China broadly as a country, ultimately alienating some Canadians who felt the party had become anti-Chinese."

Tories double down — Housakos repeatedly defended the bill on the grounds of assessments from Canada's security agencies:

• Citing multiple reports from CSIS, the Senator said agencies "have long been warning about this threat of malign foreign influence toward our democracy and our society."
• In a statement after last year's polls, the intelligence service said "the government of Canada did not detect foreign interference that threatened Canada’s ability to have a free and fair election."

What They're Saying

Events in Ukraine, I think, have shaken the world.... our work and the priority that the government places on our relationship with China continues on unabated. I would also add that work is continuing on regarding the development and finalization of our Indo-Pacific strategy. Those two approaches, our evolving China approach as well as our Indo-Pacific framework, will be mutually reinforcing and go a long way, I think, to advance our work in the region.

— Jennie Chen, Executive Director, Greater China Political and Coordination, Global Affairs Canada

There was a time when multinational businesses were blasé about risk in the lands of the world’s two most powerful autocrats... after 30 years of globalization and deep reliance on Chinese supply chains, it would be painful for multinationals to withdraw from China; for now, that would be a step too far. But neither should they act as if this is business as usual. We must be more concerned about China, and at the very least, plan for more diversification.

— Guy Saint-Jacques, former Canadian Ambassador to China

China formally applied to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) in September 2021 and hopes the Canadian side will offer its support for this application. With China's participation, the CPTPP would encompass about 30 per cent of global GDP. I believe that the business community will continue to act as a bridge between our two countries.

— Lan Heping, Chargé d'Affaires, Chinese Embassy in Canada

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Image Credit: Indian Ministry of External Affairs | UN Geneva | Kalyan Neelamraju