Chinese President Xi Jinping personally criticized Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Wednesday for alleged leaks of their closed-door meeting at the G20 summit, capturing a rare public display of annoyance from the Chinese leader.
In video footage published by Canadian broadcasters, Xi and Trudeau can be seen standing next to each other and talking through a translator. “This is not appropriate and we didn’t do it that way,” Xi said in Mandarin, smiling.
“If there is sincerity, we can communicate well with mutual respect, otherwise the result will not be easy to tell.”
His displeasure was likely a reference to media reports that Trudeau raised “serious concerns” about alleged Chinese spying and “interference” in Canadian elections when meeting Xi on Tuesday, in their first talks with the Chinese leader in more than a decade. three years.
Canada has never released an official reading of the meeting.
A translator for Xi can be heard in the video telling Trudeau that “everything we discussed was leaked to the newspaper(s), this is not appropriate”. The video captured a rare heartfelt moment for Xi, whose image is carefully curated by Chinese state media.
Trudeau responds to Xi’s initial criticism by saying “in Canada we believe in free, open and frank dialogue and that is what we will continue to have, we will continue to seek to work together constructively, but there will be things where we disagree.”
Before he has finished speaking, however, Xi, looking a little exasperated, cuts him off and emphatically says “create the conditions, create the conditions, okay?” before smiling, shaking Trudeau’s hand and walking away.
Neither the Chinese Foreign Ministry nor state media have published anything about the talks between Xi and Trudeau. The two had an informal meeting on the sidelines of the G20 summit on Tuesday, according to a government source.
Xi held nine formal bilateral meetings with other heads of state during the summit, according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry website.
The short but revealing Xi-Trudeau exchange highlighted tensions between China and Canada, at an all-time high since the 2018 arrest of Huawei Technologies executive Meng Wanzhou and the subsequent arrest of two Canadians in Beijing on espionage charges. All three were later released.
Despite the launch, tensions have recently resurfaced.
An employee of Canada’s largest electricity producer Hydro-Quebec, involved in researching battery materials, has been charged with espionage for allegedly trying to steal trade secrets to benefit China, Canadian police said on Monday.
News of the arrest came as Trudeau and Xi were attending the G20 summit on the Indonesian island of Bali.
Earlier this month, Canada ordered three Chinese companies to divest from critical Canadian minerals, citing national security.
Source: CNN Brasil
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