Claims of Beijing’s interference in the federal elections in Canada have nothing to do with reality. This was noted by Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang on the sidelines of the G20 ministerial meeting in India on March 2.
He discussed the situation with Canadian colleague Melanie Joly.
“The so-called Chinese interference in Canada’s affairs is absolute fiction and unfounded chatter, we strongly oppose,” the press service of the Chinese Foreign Ministry quoted the minister as saying.
Qin stressed that Beijing does not allow itself such steps and insists on the inviolability of sovereign state processes. He also called on Ottawa to provide conditions for the full-fledged work of the PRC diplomatic missions in order to avoid such misunderstandings in the future. According to the minister, “rumors and hype” should not interfere with the interaction of countries.
On November 16, a video from the G20 summit appeared on the Web, in which Chinese President Xi Jinping accused Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of leaking their confidential conversation to the media. Internet users criticized the Canadian politician for violating the terms of the negotiations.
The day before, Trudeau and Xi Jinping had a brief informal meeting on the sidelines of the G20 summit. According to the Canadian Premier’s office, Trudeau expressed concern to the Chinese President about China’s “alleged interference” in the Canadian elections. Xi Jinping indicated that the conversation was confidential, but the recording of the dialogue was made public.
