The two leaders didn’t speak even while seated right next to each other.
There was evident tension between Justin Trudeau and Xi Jinping at the G20 meeting in Osaka, Japan.
Despite being seated next to each other, there was no sign of the usual superficial pleasantries, with both sitting stony-faced and not reacting.
This isn’t a bad thing on Trudeau’s part, as it would have been out of place for him to be super-friendly with Xi considering how poorly China has treated Canada.
At a different point, Trudeau and Xi had a short conversation on the sidelines of the summit.
Yet, as reported by Mercedes Stephenson, the PMO has refused to say whether the stony-faced sit down was before or after the informal chat, raising the possibility that things really didn’t go well.
“The PMO says that Trudeau and Xi spoke briefly later and described it as a constructive interaction. They would not disclose whether that interaction was before or after the video of the leaders sitting next to each other but not engaging”
The PMO says that Trudeau and Xi spoke briefly later and described it as a constructive interaction. They would not disclose whether that interaction was before or after the video of the leaders sitting next to each other but not engaging #cdnpoli #G20
— Mercedes Stephenson (@MercedesGlobal) June 28, 2019
On Twitter, CBC posted a video claiming the quick chat was ‘after’ the earlier stony-faced non-interaction, but this has not been confirmed:
Video shows Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Chinese President Xi Jinping talking away from the cameras at the G20 summit in Japan after they appeared not to interact with each other earlier in the day at a working lunch. https://t.co/MXqkobwvgn pic.twitter.com/YQQHmUkRIl
— CBC News (@CBCNews) June 28, 2019
Of course, since there is no formal meeting planned between the two leaders, leaving the responsibility of advocating on behalf of Canada to US President Donald Trump, who has said he would raise the issue of detained Canadians Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor when he has his formal meeting with the leader of the Communist State.
Below are some photos and video from the summit:
Here are the two leaders for the several minutes they sat next to each other and didn’t acknowledge each other #cdnpoli #G20 pic.twitter.com/6WMr9RbCNO
— Mercedes Stephenson (@MercedesGlobal) June 28, 2019
Here are Trudeau and Xi just a few minutes ago in a pull aside at the evening #G20 event #cdnpoli #G20Summit pic.twitter.com/jqnjQGw5jc
— Mercedes Stephenson (@MercedesGlobal) June 28, 2019
Spencer Fernando
Photo – YouTube
[widget id="top-posts-5"]