China halts dialogue with the United States. What does this mean for Canada?
Global News
China’s foreign ministry also said it summoned Beijing-based Canadian diplomat Jim Nickel over Canada’s participation in a statement issued by the foreign minister from G7 nations.
China announced suspension of dialogue with the United States in a number of areas on Friday, countering the recent visit to Taiwan by U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
Not only has dialogue been cut on climate change and between theatre-level military commanders, cross-border crime and drug trafficking exchanges have also been ceased.
With such an “un-transparent” regime, it could be hard to predict what lies ahead for Canada’s diplomatic relations with China, says Josephine Chiu-Duke, professor at the University of British Columbia’s (UBC) Asian Studies Department.
“I did not expect the Chinese regime would act in such a fierce, violent way,” she told Global News.
For Canada, “we can’t really predict China’s actions because their system is simply so un-transparent,” she said. “In the long run, we just don’t know what other actions China will take.”
However, at least for now, Chiu-Duke doesn’t seek any shift in relations coming between Canada’s relations with the People’s Republic of China.
“At the moment, I don’t see any particular change of course in terms of the relationship between Canada and the People’s Republic of China,” she said.
In response to what China described as Pelosi’s “vicious” and “provocative” actions from her visit to Taiwan earlier in the week, the Communist government of the country also announced sanctions on her and her immediate family.