‘Canada does not view China as an adversary,’ ambassador says

Canada’s ambassador to China says Ottawa’s “complex” relationship with Beijing means some facets of the relationship are speeding along while others are in reverse — but notes China is not viewed as an adversary.

“The analogy I constantly use while advising Canadian companies looking to do business in China is that of the yellow light,” Jennifer May said in a French-language speech this week.

May told the Montreal Council on Foreign Relations that Canada no longer faces the green light of “business as usual” with China, but it’s also past what she called the red-light scenario of 2018, when China detained Canadian citizens Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor.

Beijing jailed the pair for 1,019 days following the arrest and detention of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou in Vancouver at the request of the United States. Since then, Canadians continue to say in surveys they worry about being arbitrarily arrested in China.

In late 2022, Ottawa released its Indo-Pacific strategy, which stated that China “is an increasingly disruptive global power.”

In her speech Monday, May said that doesn’t mean Canada can’t work with Beijing.

“Canada does not view China as an adversary,” she said. “Rather, it is a country that presents both challenges and opportunities, requiring careful management and strategic thinking.”

May said Canadian energy companies are making inroads in China, while others in sectors like agriculture find themselves blocked by what she called Beijing’s arbitrary measures. She noted there have been restrictions lasting more than two years on imports of certain types of Canadian beef and animal food containing chicken.

This month, China launched a complaint at the World Trade Organization and launched its own anti-dumping