Canada should avoid relying on China for exporting its goods, as such dependence would leave the country vulnerable to the Chinese regime’s economic coercion, says China scholar and Canadian author Charles Burton.
His new book talks about his own 55-year history with China, where he had previously lived as a student and a diplomat, Burton told Epoch Times sister media outlet NTD at the book launch.
He said that in writing the book, he aims to “do something good for Canada-China relations,” noting that he continues to be concerned about “violations of human rights going on in China today, particularly the Tibetans in Tibet, the Uyghurs, and other groups that are being unfairly treated by the Chinese regime.”
“The main purpose of the book is for us to look at our past experience with China so that we can not make mistakes that we made in our past engagement with China as we go forward with [Chinese leader] Xi Jinping under Prime Minister Carney,” Burton said.
Burton noted that amid strained trade relations with the United States, Ottawa is “under pressure to quickly find new partners and markets” and this is something China “has the power to deliver if Canada agrees to revive the free trade negotiations bungled by Justin Trudeau in 2017.”
“It’s important that we not become dependent on the Chinese economy for export of Canadian natural resources, agricultural commodities, and mineral and wood products,” Burton said. Becoming overly dependent would mean the Chinese regime “can deny that access as a means of economic coercion to further their own geostrategic interests,” he added.
Canada’s primary focus for trade diversification should be with “democratic countries that pose no existential threat to Canada, as China does, Burton said.
“Xi’s terse statement at the meeting made it clear that Canada is a supplicant to the Middle Kingdom [China], that Canada has been wrong, and Canada will change its ways,” Burton said at the Nov. 29 book launch.
The Prime Ministers’ Office said the two leaders “affirmed their commitment to renewing the relationship between their two countries in a pragmatic and constructive way.” Burton said the two words, “pragmatic” and “constructive” were “staple Chinese propaganda, words for not criticizing any Beijing actions that violate international norms in domestic terms.”
“It’s like China would be able to interfere in Canada’s democratic processes, or provide benefits to Canadians who are influential in policy formulation so they advance China’s geopolitical interests in Canada,” Burton said. “We’re really giving a tacit consent for these activities internationally.”
He said this could mean Canada wouldn’t speak out about China’s “policies of genocide” against various groups or its “violation of the language, cultural, and religious rights of Tibetans and other ethnicities.”
Transnational Repression
Earlier this year, leaders of the G7 countries signed a joint statement condemning transnational repression, pledging to support those who may be targets of this “aggressive form of foreign interference.”Burton said the statement “acknowledges the existence of transnational repression, but it hasn’t resulted in Canada taking any effective measures against it as yet.”
“We haven’t expelled any of the diplomats and their proxies who are involved in transnational repression, nor have we declared persona non grata the senior levels within the embassy who are responsible for this kind of program,” Burton said, adding that he hopes Canada will take “a more serious and effective response” to the issue of transnational repression, “particularly against persons in Canada of Chinese origin.”
Having a foreign interference registry would also provide clarity about “actors in the policy process who may have a conflict of interest because they are receiving benefits from a foreign country,” Burton said.
“Unfortunately, we haven’t got the registry yet, and the fact that we’ve been so slow in implementing it, I think, has emboldened the Chinese [regime] to do more of this kind of interference, because there seems to be no consequences and no sincerity that they can perceive on the part of the Government of Canada to take effective measures to counter transnational repression,” Burton said.
“But there’s one thing about making a declaration, and then there’s backing it up. And so far, what we’re seeing from Canada is it’s not backing up those words with actual actions,” Baxendale said.
More and more people in Canada are being repressed and targeted by the Chinese regime using various forms of disinformation, intimidation, and coercion, he noted. He said Canada needs to create a database of these cases to demonstrate that the issue of transnational repression continues to be a global problem.
“The fact that governments are recognizing it is a great first step, so I applaud the nations that signed on to this, but we need to turn those words and that declaration into action,” Baxendale said.
Baxendale added that Canada can combat China’s transnational repression by being transparent about the issue, pushing back against the Chinese regime narratives that the problem isn’t happening, and continuing “to shine a light where no light has been shone before.”
