Canada warns that spiraling diplomatic feud is tainting China’s reputation
Three Canadians are in detention in China — one with a death sentence — which is ‘not good for the image of corporate China in the world’
Ottawa — Canada’s ambassador to China warns that the spiraling diplomatic feud between the nations is damaging Beijing’s reputation, as the US joins countries criticising a Canadian citizen’s death-sentence as “politically motivated”. Ambassador John McCallum told reporters on Wednesday that China’s prosecutions of Canadian nationals risked undermining their own interests among the world’s business community. McCallum, a former lawmaker, said he believed that argument would prove more compelling to Chinese officials than seeking support from business and foreign governments to pressure Beijing. “We have to engage the senior Chinese leaders and persuade them that what they are doing is not good for China’s place in the world,” McCallum said, attending a meeting with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s cabinet in Quebec. “It’s not good for the image of corporate China in the world.” Canada is navigating what foreign minister Chrystia Freeland described on Wednesday as a “difficult moment”...
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