Canadians woke up on Wednesday to rarely-captured footage of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaking with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of a G20 meeting in Indonesia.
In the interaction, Xi expressed his displeasure with Trudeau over details of what the pair discussed in a brief meeting this week being 鈥渓eaked鈥� to reporters, while Trudeau sought to defend the importance of 鈥渙pen鈥� dialogue.
But it鈥檚 not just what was said, but how it was said, that caught the eye of some, with Canada鈥檚 former ambassador to China saying that it was 鈥渧ery unusual for a Chinese leader to act this way,鈥� and a sign that China feels that Canada is 鈥渁 minor country.鈥�
From what the two world leaders' body language conveyed, to the politics of the interaction, here's what's being said in Ottawa and by Canada-China experts on Wednesday about the exchange.
ON THE BODY LANGUAGE
Former Canadian ambassador to China Guy Saint-Jacques:
"I would say first that it's very unusual for a Chinese leader to act in this way, because you have to understand that in Chinese culture you are not supposed to make your interlocutor lose face, and you expect your interlocutor not to make you lose face. But we see that Xi Jinping is deliberate, he is red in the face鈥� He is agitated because he moves his arms, something that he does not do usually when he meets with someone. And clearly he wanted to pass a message. What is unfortunate is that we didn't hear everything that he said because Prime Minister Trudeau interrupted the translator to push back on Xi Jinping. Good for the prime minister," said Saint-Jacques in an interview with 麻豆影视.
"My impression of all of this is that this shows that Xi Jinping wanted to send a clear message to the prime minister and to other leaders and there's not much sympathy I would say, for Mr. Trudeau.鈥� Clearly, Xi Jinping feels that Canada is a minor country. He doesn't have much time for Trudeau, and this shows how complicated it will be to try to restore a minimum of relations鈥� I would say that respect works both ways. And clearly, prime minister Trudeau would not have like being berated like this in public by Xi Jinping," Saint-Jacques continued.
Managing director of the MacDonald Laurier Institute Brian Lee Crowley:
"Well, clearly, you know, Xi kept trying to turn away from the prime minister. I thought his body language communicated disrespect, communicated a disinterest in what the prime minister was saying, and the esteem or lack of esteem in which Xi holds the prime minister? I mean, he basically couldn't even bring himself to look at him," said Crowley, in an interview on 麻豆影视 Channel.
"I think the prime minister鈥� is not only responding to public opinion in Canada鈥攚hich is increasingly skeptical of China鈥� but also is under considerable pressure I think from the United States and other allies in the liberal democratic world who are saying: 'We're toughening our stance towards China, and we don't see evidence that Canada is following suit.' And I think the prime minister was not aiming his comments solely at Xi, but also at those allies who want to see more evidence of a little backbone on Canada's policy towards China," Crowley continued.
ON THE POLITICS OF THE EXCHANGE
Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry Francois-Philippe Champagne:
"Listen, I was not present, but what I鈥檓 pleased about is that the prime minister is standing up as he always does for Canada and 鈥� and standing up for our position and saying that, as I鈥檝e seen in the press report, that we won鈥檛 tolerate these type of things with respect to interference鈥� I think we need to interact with eyes wide open. That鈥檚 what I would say," said Champagne in a scrum on Parliament Hill.
Conservative foreign affairs critic Michael Chong:
"I think the prime minister went to the summit unprepared to represent Canada's interests and values. We've yet to have the Indo-Pacific strategy from the government, and that should have been completed long ago so the prime minister could have gone to the summit prepared to defend Canada's interests and values鈥� What's more important is for us in Canada to take action to counter Beijing's meddling in our democracy鈥� And that's the problem with him confining this issue to a private conversation with President Xi鈥�. I think the government is slowly waking up to the threat that we have for years been calling on them to take action on鈥� They have failed to act," Chong told reporters following a caucus meeting in West Block.
NDP foreign affairs critic Heather McPherson:
"It isn't the first diplomatic incident by Prime Minister Trudeau, and it will definitely not improve the diplomatic relationship with China. The delays in appointing an ambassador also doesn't help. Ultimately, it is important for Canada to stand strong against allegations of foreign interference by China into our election and we must take every opportunity going forward to diversify our trade. China is not a reliable trade partner, and it is important we build strong relationships with other countries in the region," McPherson said in a statement.
With files from 麻豆影视' Annie Bergeron-Oliver
