West can show regime critics in China ‘there are other ways of doing things’: Trudeau

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the way the West deals with Beijing can highlight to people in China who “disagree with the regime that there are other ways of doing things.”

His comment comes as China grapples with protests across the country in response to Beijing’s “zero-COVID” policy — protests that mark the largest display of anti-government sentiment since the 1989 Tiananmen Square demonstrations, which ended in a massacre.
Global News asked the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) about his comments, and specifically to clarify whether Trudeau was referring to all those in China who disagree with the current government, or just those protesting in the country-wide demonstrations taking place currently.

A PMO spokesperson responded that the office had “nothing further” to say on the topic.

The prime minister made the comment at a Reuters NEXT event on Wednesday morning, when a host asked Trudeau about the West’s current relationship with China.

“I think there are various degrees of engagement across the West. There’s not one single approach, but there is a consistency and understanding that China is an increasingly important global economic power, but it’s also an increasingly challenging or disruptive global economic power, and we have to be thoughtful about how we engage in commercial and economic ties that benefit our citizens,” he said.

Trudeau added that engagement needs to show a “consistent” approach “that we’re going to stand up for our values, for our principles, for the things that our citizens in the West expect us to stand for — not just for our own purposes, but to highlight to people in China who disagree with the regime that there are other ways of doing things and there is a better future, possibly, ahead.”

The statement indicates a “very strong position” taken by the prime minister, according to Guy Saint-Jacques, a former Canadian ambassador to China.

“I don’t recall him being that forceful and it is a long way from his position towards China when he came to power in 2015,” Saint-Jacques told Global News over email when asked for his reaction to the remark.

“Of course, China will claim that he is interfering in its domestic affairs. While it may not help to restore some dialogue between the two countries, at the same time, if you believe in democracy, this is the kind of stand you have to take.”