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Canada Gave up on Free Trade Agreement Negotiation with China

Well-known Chinese news site Sina (NASDAQ: SINA) recently reported that the Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs, François-Philippe Champagne, commented in an interview with the Globe and Mail on Canada’s Free Trade Agreement with China. He concluded that there is no value in continuing the negotiation and so Canada has given up on the process. The negotiation started four years ago when Prime Minister Justin Trudeau visited China. Champagne expressed the belief that the current political conditions are not suitable for further discussions. Prime Minister Trudeau has been under heavy domestic criticism for giving up too many of Canada’s principles in exchange for China’s business opportunities. Earlier, Champagne described China’s style of pushing foreign relationships as “arbitrary” and “coercive.” (Editor’s note: Sina’s report did not mention that, in the same interview with the Globe and Mail, Champagne stated Canada’s first priority is to bring home Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor. In in June, in retaliation for Canada’s detention of Huawei’s CFO Meng Wanzhou, the Chinese Communists charged the two Michaels with espionage.)

Source: Sina, September 19, 2020
https://news.sina.cn/2020-09-19/detail-iivhvpwy7616303.d.html