Carney to Confront Xi on Interference at APEC Summit Next Week
(MENAFN) Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney will sit down with Chinese President Xi Jinping at next week’s Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, where he intends to press Ottawa’s concerns over foreign interference.
Questioned at a Montreal news conference about the planned meeting, along with allegations of espionage and Chinese police stations operating in Canada, Carney confirmed the encounter.
“Yes, I will be meeting with President Xi Jinping next week at APEC. We will discuss many things,” he said. The agenda, he added, will cover the global security situation and the economic partnership.
Carney said the trade relationship is “deepening but has clear guardrails in terms of the areas in which we’re involved,” identifying manufacturing as the chief source of growth. That includes a small share of vehicles, “less than 3% of our market.”
He argued that the security risks tied to Canada’s partnership with China are well below those facing the United States, calling them “much, much, much, much less than the security risks.”
On interference, Carney said: “I will be raising the importance with which we attach to the non-interference in our affairs by China and other countries,”
He also addressed the seven-month vacancy in Canada’s ambassadorship to China, its second-largest trading partner, and acknowledged the delay.
“It’s a little longer than we would have liked. We wanted to get the right person, and we have found that right person,” he said.
Carney said Canada is working to secure Beijing’s agreement, a step that, as with any country, requires Ottawa to put forward a candidate before a formal agreement is reached.
“We would hope to make the announcement in very short order,” he added.
Questioned at a Montreal news conference about the planned meeting, along with allegations of espionage and Chinese police stations operating in Canada, Carney confirmed the encounter.
“Yes, I will be meeting with President Xi Jinping next week at APEC. We will discuss many things,” he said. The agenda, he added, will cover the global security situation and the economic partnership.
Carney said the trade relationship is “deepening but has clear guardrails in terms of the areas in which we’re involved,” identifying manufacturing as the chief source of growth. That includes a small share of vehicles, “less than 3% of our market.”
He argued that the security risks tied to Canada’s partnership with China are well below those facing the United States, calling them “much, much, much, much less than the security risks.”
On interference, Carney said: “I will be raising the importance with which we attach to the non-interference in our affairs by China and other countries,”
He also addressed the seven-month vacancy in Canada’s ambassadorship to China, its second-largest trading partner, and acknowledged the delay.
“It’s a little longer than we would have liked. We wanted to get the right person, and we have found that right person,” he said.
Carney said Canada is working to secure Beijing’s agreement, a step that, as with any country, requires Ottawa to put forward a candidate before a formal agreement is reached.
“We would hope to make the announcement in very short order,” he added.
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