Odd Bedfellows; Chinese-Canadian Relations
Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper has never courted China, despite its economic powerhouse status, and suggestions that he is now doing so in order to secure the Chinese-Canadian vote are ludicrous. It is perfectly evident that people do not emigrate from China to Canada on account of the weather. As such, it is naive to believe that Chinese-Canadians, en masse, wish for positive relations between their country of origin and their adopted homeland. This is not to mention the host of Asian Canadians, Tibetans, for instance, who may observe Canada’s diplomatic relations with China with suspicion.
With entirely opposing political cultures, China and Canada have no reason to maintain good relations besides for economics, and in this time of fiscal crisis, our Prime Minister has bit the bullet. In 2006, with regards to his stand on China, Harper famously noted that he would not “sell out” human rights in favour of economic gain. This is a course he has not diverged from, until now. For the first time since his election, Harper has paid an official visit to China.
Needless to say, the Chinese were not quick to forgive or forget. Canadian news stories are already filled with the hot topic of apparent diplomatic breach on the part of the Chinese government with regards to the Canadian PM. On arrival, Harper was treated to repeated commentary made by both the Chinese President, Hu Jintao and Premier, Wen Jiabao, castigating him for his former disinterest in China and the fact that he is now making an official visit to the country. Undaunted, Harper pointed out the Chinese had similarly not undertaken a trip to Canada and went so far as to invite such a visit for the (unspecified) “very near future”.
As a result of the visit, Canada has gained ‘Preferred Tourist Destination Status’ and trade between the two is on the rise. Harper himself later described the talks between leaders as “frank”, a term I was not aware existed in the political lexicon. When pressed about the much hoped for discussion of human rights in China, Harper offered only a vague reply about reconciling concerns with the sovereignty of China. Apparently, ‘frank’ means business.
These events demonstrate that, particularly in this economic climate, no nation is independent and thus able to maintain ideological purity. Though offended, China rewarded Canada’s behaviour with increased tourism and trade, while Canada was forced to get off of its high horse and publicly make nice with the human rights offender.
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Tags: canada, china, stephen harper
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February 3rd, 2010 at 9:50 am
Well said. China is a rumbling Volcano and it might be silly to forgo mending relations. Human rights is an interesting issue, but in general it’s used as a means to coerce other nations to confirm to the dominant nations political whims. The world is rife with human rights violations which probably far exceed China’s and yet, much of it goes undisturbed.