Mutually beneficial trade with China – particularly when reversing tariffs that were imposed at America’s request – is defensible. Giving in to threats is not.
Wang Di, China’s Ambassador to Canada, is warning Canada against sending MP delegations to Taiwan and transiting the Taiwan Strait:
“According to Wang, Canadian parliamentarians have official status, and it would be “hurtful” for them to meet officials in Taiwan.
“Any official engagement between China and Canada should only happen between the People’s Republic of China and Canada,” the envoy told the newspaper.
“Sending warships through the Taiwan Strait and doing harassment and even provocation, of course, that is in violation of the One China principle, and that also violates China’s territorial integrity,” Wang was quoted as saying.”
Canadian Sovereignty
Prime Minister Mark Carney has done a good job defending Canadian sovereignty amid threats from U.S. President Donald Trump. Carney has worked to tamp down federal-provincial tensions, pulled back on contentious policies, sought freer trade within Canada, and deepened ties with more reliable trading and defence partners like the European Union and Japan to reduce Canada’s reliance on the U.S.
That same approach should be applied in the wake of the warning from China. As noted by Jason Kenney, the proper response to this attempted coercion is to send more MPs to Taiwan and more ships to the Taiwan Strait:
Just as the desire among Trump supporters on the Canadian right to submit to the U.S. represents weakness, so would submitting to China’s threats. Canada has acted rationally towards China, signing a mutually beneficial deal that reduced Canadian tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles in return for reduced tariffs on Canadian canola, seafood, and other products. Such a deal has nothing to do with Taiwan, nor with Canadian ships transiting the Taiwan Strait, which is viewed by Canada as an international waterway. Attempts by China to link the two represent an attempt to use economic coercion, the same kind of tactics Canada is rightfully rejecting from the Trump Administration.
A World of Thieves or a World of Traders
Do we want to live in a world where fear, coercion, threats, and one-sided, zero-sum thinking prevail? If not, we must take action to ensure the promotion and protection of a world of traders, where we exchange value for value, and where Canada’s ability to act independently, Taiwan’s right to choose its own future, and the free flow of commerce through international sea lanes are defended. And that means refusing to give in to threats, whether from the U.S., China or others.
Spencer Fernando
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