Foreign Minister's Provocative Remarks Against China
Foreign Minister Joly, in a November 9 speech at the University of Toronto's Munk School of Global Affairs, about Canada's forthcoming Indo-Pacific Strategy, said: "China is an increasingly disruptive global power. It seeks to shape the global environment into one that is more permissive for interests and values that increasingly depart from ours.
"China's rise as a global actor is reshaping the strategic outlook of every state in the region, including Canada."
On November 10, China Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Zhao Lijian fielded a question from a Reuters reporter on the matter. The exchange went as follows:
Reuters: Canadian Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly said on Wednesday [November 9] that China is an "increasingly disruptive global power." Does the foreign ministry have any comment on this?
Zhao Lijian: These remarks by the Canadian side run counter to facts, smack of ideological bias, and blatantly interfere in China's internal affairs. We firmly reject them and have made solemn démarches to the Canadian side. I would like to emphasize the following points:
First, China is committed to peaceful development, openness, inclusiveness and win-win cooperation. We have always been a force for world peace, a contributor to global development, and a defender of the international order, a fact that has been widely recognized in the international community. China's development brings opportunities to the world and strengthens the world's forces for peace. No matter what stage of development we reach, we will never seek hegemony or engage in expansionism.
Second, peace, development and win-win cooperation are the trend of our times and the shared aspiration of countries in the Asia-Pacific. The formulation of an "Indo-Pacific strategy" is Canada's own affair, but no matter what kind of regional strategy Canada comes up with, it should be guided by the vision of mutual benefit rather than zero-sum game. Those who cling to the Cold War zero-sum mentality, practice group politics and stoke bloc confrontation will find no support and get nowhere.
Third, relations between countries can only be built on the basis of mutual respect, equality and mutual benefit. China-Canada relations are no exception. Taiwan, Xinjiang and Hong Kong affairs are purely China's internal affairs and brook no meddling from any country. The China-Canada relationship is at a crossroads now. Its future course hinges on whether Canada can return to the rational and practical trajectory and view China in an objective and unbiased light.
This article was published in
Volume 52 Number 8 - November 2022
Article Link:
https://cpcml.ca/Tmlm2022/Articles/MS52083.HTM
Website: www.cpcml.ca Email: editor@cpcml.ca
