China's Devious Displeasure

"…at the urging of intelligence officials, Five Eyes countries are leading the way when it comes to reducing ­dependence on Chinese firms in critical areas of the economy. For example, Australia has formally banned Huawei from its 5G rollout while Washington announced it will file criminal charges against Huawei for violating US sanctions against Iran and stealing trade secrets. This ­increases the likelihood of a total ban on equipment made by these firms such as Huawei. Britain and Canada have not made any decision but have expressed security concerns with Chinese firms."
"Of course, credible intelligence pointing to what is at stake is just one element behind any policy decision. The decisive factor is adequate political will to ­absorb diplomatic and possibly economic costs of Chinese displeasure. Washington and Canberra have been the most forward leaning. But the three other Five Eyes governments have been far more reluctant to explicitly ­accept that China is already working against their interests."
"This is why Beijing is shooting itself in the foot. Its exercise of ­arbitrary power over foreign citizens in China is causing the Communist Party to lose the battle for political hearts and minds. Previously the Trudeau government was accused by conservative ­opponents of being too lax in dealings with China. This even included accusations that Ottawa had become naive when it came to national security matters and technological co-operation with China. Last year Trudeau was ­reportedly briefed twice by intelligence officials about the dangers of allowing Huawei to help build the 5G network. Given recent events, it becomes politically difficult for Trudeau to make any ­argument for a softer approach towards China. Indeed, the Canadian leader took the dramatic step of sacking his ambassador to China, John McCallum, after McCallum said the arrest of Huawei’s Meng was unwarranted."                                                                                                                   John Lee, The Australian

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION: BRYAN GEE. SOURCE IMAGES: REUTERS

Actually it was the too-public stench that led Prime Minister Trudeau to release old Liberal warhorse John McCallum from the China desk's mission. Like the Canadian prime minister whom he served before this one, Jean Chretien, McCallum believed that all (Canadian economic roads of the future) lead to China. Currying favour and supplication were big on Mr. Chretien's agenda. The solution Mr. McCallum proffered in fact, might have benefited his newer PM had it, or a version thereof been envisioned before arresting Meng Wanzhou, but Trudeau lacked the nimbleness to negotiate his position between the U.S. and China.

A word to the wise might have been all it would take; for McCallum as Canadian ambassador to China, to whisper in the knowingly receptive ear of Huawei's founder that his daughter might do well to rethink transiting Canada in a stopover, despite her comfortable familiarity with Vancouver as the owner of two luxury properties and her former status, pre-warrant as a permanent resident of the city. Once the die was cast, it was a clear expectation never fully realized by the government of Canada that China would respond, but never quite in the ferocious manner it did and does.

Canadian and Chinese flags stand at attention prior to a meeting between Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and China' President Xi Jinping in Beijing in December 2017. FRED DUFOUR / AFP/Getty Images files

The freezing of diplomatic niceties where China's ambassador to Canada felt free to accuse Canada of 'racism' in a rambling rant, the considerable cooling of a free trade agreement in the works (though to be perfectly fair, Prime Minister Trudeau by his incessant prattling about 'feminism' and women's rights in trade deals as in every and any metric of international exchange put the brakes on a free trade deal pre-Huawei), and the immediate arrest of two Canadians denied legal counsel, held virtually incommunicado, and ultimately charged with 'espionage'; the death sentence of a third for drug smuggling.

But China, as a powerful, influential, assertive and prickly leader (to perceived slights) in world trade and technology, the former through the mediums of undercutting world prices and thus sabotaging international production, along with its many probing successes in military and industrial espionage reflecting the latter, also has a very volatile and vehemently inflatable temper where its tantrums can strike with deadly effect in the most unexpected ways.

About 40 per cent of Canadian canola seed exports normally go to China, but the country has stopped buying  (CBC)

"While there was some initial optimism that Chinese concerns with canola trade could be resolved quickly, technical discussions to date have not indicated an immediate resolution is possible." 
"Canola seed exporters report that Chinese importers are unwilling to purchase Canadian canola seed at this time."
Canola Council of Canada (CCC)

Canada has been warned with dire consequences should it decide, as part of the Five Eyes intelligence community, to emulate three of its partners, the United States, Australia and New Zealand in shutting China's telecommunications industry giant Huawei out of its 5G development plans. That China was enraged with the arrest of Meng Wanzhou at the behest of U.S. justice where she will face charges of misleading American banking officials in the issue of business conducted with Iran despite U.S. sanctions is an understatement. But adding insult to injury by shutting out Huawei will bring the full thrust of the Chinese Communist Party's malignant reaction into force.

And so, though the Chinese population has taken to the use of Canada-specific canola products and China has been the importer of 40% of Canada's huge production of Canola products, that comfortable agricultural success story may be no more. For starters, China has 'identified' quite specific quality issues, refusing to accept shipments that it claims are infested. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has given those same products a clean bill of health, free from any and all impurities but China is adamant; it will no longer accept the product.

China's intimidating, wide-ranging plans for its future as the globe's most influential, important source of everything imaginable from consumer products to AI technology in every consumable sphere may inspire fear and trepidation in the minds of alert world leaders, but in the economies of struggling countries China's willingness to invest and to build critical infrastructure to nominally benefit those countries and hugely benefit China has resonance. To those countries who exhibit a healthy dose of caution in dealing with China it has a message: beware the consequences.

But Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has a message of his own to China, in response to its decision to discontinue importing Canadian canola: "We're going to roll up our sleeves and work with the Chinese officials to demonstrate that canola should continue to flow safely from Canada to China."
Great plan, Mr. Prime Minister.