Joly visiting China to 'pragmatically' engage amid diplomatic, interference rift

Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly is heading to Beijing in what is the first visit of a Canadian foreign minister to China since 2017, before the high-profile detention of two Canadians.

Joly suggested Thursday that the move comes in response to an increasingly complex geopolitical landscape. 

"Canada is committed to engaging pragmatically with a wide range of countries to advance our national interests and uphold our values," she said in a written statement.

China announced the visit at a Thursday morning press briefing in Beijing, saying Joly would arrive that evening for two nights, but did not outline specific themes she'd raise with her Chinese counterpart Wang Yi.

"The two sides will have in-depth communication on China-Canada relations and issues of mutual interest and work for the improvement and growth of the bilateral relationship," spokesman Lin Jian said, according to an official translation.

Global Affairs Canada added that Joly and Wang would discuss regional and global security issues.

The brief visit follows a shift in tone from Beijing early this year. It has been urging Canada to work on shared priorities and draw less attention to disagreements, following years of diplomatic strain.

Yet Joly's visit comes after Canadian security officials flagged Chinese interference as the country's greatest strategic threat. 

And Canada's NATO allies criticized Beijing last week for posing "systemic challenges" to regional security as a "decisive enabler" of Russia's war against Ukraine.

"We need to be cautious and clear-eyed about the fact that while the tone in Beijing may have changed, the overall strategic direction of the relationship has not," said Vina Nadjibulla, the research vice-president for the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada.

"Being the top diplomat, as Minister Joly, it's her job to engage diplomatically, including with our adversaries."

Carleton University professor Jeremy Paltiel said many observers had the impression Joly was pushing for a China visit over at least the past year, given her repeated rhetoric about pragmatic diplomacy and engaging with countries despite deep disagreements.

"They've been angling for it for a long time, but the Chinese were not biting," said Paltiel, who specializes in Canada-China relations.

He said the visit seemed to be hastily planned, with Joly earlier announcing a trip to South Korea but not mentioning she would then head to China.

After the Beijing visit, Joly will proceed with previously planned stops in Tokyo and Laos.

The government's Indo-Pacific strategy, released in November 2022, framed China as "an increasingly disruptive global power" but one that Canada must engage with given its huge economic and environmental clout.

Paltiel said he isn't expecting any announcements. He noted that Joly's top civil servant, David Morrison, went to Beijing ahead of her but both countries "couldn't agree on what they could sign or say."

Canada would be happy with more of a "keep-the-door-open" visit, he said. "Maybe now the Chinese are realizing that open doors are better than closed doors."

He noted that the Chinese Communist Party's central committee meetings this week included a focus on continual trade reform following pressure from the European Union and other markets.

"From the Chinese side, they're worried about their international margin for manoeuvre, given the deteriorating relations with the EU and the United States, and the prospect of (former president Donald) Trump getting elected becoming stronger," he said.

"Given that Ottawa, and in particular Minister Joly, has been looking to resume dialogue for some time, I think the Chinese side has determined now is the time to seize the moment ... before the door gets shut in their face."

Nadjibulla said the visit also comes in the context of China facing mounting provincial debts, a real-estate crisis and sluggish consumption numbers.

"The economy is facing major internal and external headwinds," she said. "In some ways, China is toning down its wolf-warrior diplomacy. It's trying to re-engage."

Nadjibulla said Joly will likely bring up interference in Canadian politics, and reiterate concerns about economic coercion and consular cases. She said fentanyl trafficking would also be an important issue to raise.

Both experts said they suspect pushback from China when it comes to emulating the U.S. in restricting imports of electric vehicles from China, a topic on which Ottawa is undertaking consultations.

Joly's visit could head off retaliatory actions, Nadjibulla said, like once again restricting imports of certain Canadian products, such as pork and canola. 

In 2018, China arrested Canadians Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor following the detention of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou in Vancouver at the request of the United States.

Kovrig and Spavor were both accused of spying in closed Chinese courts. Canada and many allies said the process amounted to arbitrary detention on bogus charges in an unaccountable justice system.

The U.S. worked out a deferred prosecution agreement in Meng's case, allowing for her release, and Beijing permitted the two Michaels, as they came to be known, to fly home in September 2021. Nadjibulla was the primary advocate for Kovrig during his detention.

Conservative MP Michael Chong called for transparency around what exactly pragmatism means when engaging with Beijing, and listed a series of issues Joly should raise, such as Uyghur persecution, alleged Chinese police stations in Canada, energy exports and tensions in the South China Sea. 

"I hope we get some transparency on what was discussed instead of some anodyne statement," he said on social media.

"Sunlight and transparency is a powerful tool to counter Beijing's malevolent activities and to further Canada's interests."

Chong noted that foreign-interference inquiry commissioner Marie-Josée Hogue found "well-grounded suspicion" and "strong indicators" of Beijing's involvement in acts that likely influenced the vote in specific ridings.

Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet said dialogue is important, but Joly must be "very careful" to raise issues like human rights and interference.

"I hope she will avoid walking the (Great) Wall of China or discovering the great culture," he told reporters on Parliament Hill.

The Canada China Business Council has chastised Ottawa for being an outlier in restoring high-level dialogue with Chinese leaders, noting that peer countries overcame strained relations in recent years through ministerial visits.

The group argued Canada can still raise human-rights concerns while boosting trade. Yet in a survey it commissioned last fall, 58 per cent of Canadian business leaders polled said the risk of China arbitrarily detaining staff was still negatively affecting their operations.

Last August, Beijing kept Canada off a list of approved destinations for Chinese tour groups, and China's embassy in Ottawa said this was because of "hyped-up" interference allegations. Meanwhile, Europeans, but not Canadians, have been allowed visa-free travel to China for short trips.

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