Canada ambassador to China says relations at ‘yellow light’ but not adversarial

By Dylan Robertson, The Canadian Press on September 18, 2024.

OTTAWA – Canadian ambassador to China says Ottawa’s complex relationship with Beijing means some facets of the relationship are speeding along while others are in reverse.

In a French-language speech this week, Jennifer May described the bilateral relationship as being at a yellow stoplight, after the red light during the detainment of Canadian citizens Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor.

She said Canada is able to advance ties and trade despite Chinese restrictions on canola and beef.

May told the Montreal Council on Foreign Relations that Canada doesn’t see China as an adversary.

She also revealed that a meeting between Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly and her counterpart Wang Yi in Beijing in July lasted five hours.

May said her top worry isn’t bilateral issues, but rather an economic downtown in China that she says has not occurred in generations.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 18, 2024.

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