3 days ago
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Canada playing a dangerous game in provoking both China and US
When Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney came to power, there was hope that he might try to improve relations with China, which have been in a deep freeze since the debacle over Huawei's Meng Wanzhou. After all, China is the country's second-largest trading partner after the US.
The answer
came last weekend . Citing national security, Ottawa ordered the Canadian branch of Hikvision, the partly state-owned Chinese security camera manufacturer, to completely shut down all its operations in the country. The decision was repeatedly delayed by the previous government of Justin Trudeau, Carney's Liberal Party predecessor. Industry Minister Melanie Joly, who issued the total ban, did not offer specific reasons but only mentioned having consulted the country's intelligence and national security agencies.
Multiple European countries, the US and Australia have already blacklisted or sanctioned Hikvision or its subsidiaries. The latest ban follows a similar one in December 2023 imposed by the province of Quebec on Hikvision and Dahua, another Chinese-owned telecoms and security camera company.
At the time, Ottawa didn't follow suit. There was a sense that Trudeau wanted to pass the ball to his successor. Trudeau also delayed banning Huawei even after most of Canada's Western allies had done so, despite the controversy over the arrest and failed extradition to the US of Meng, Huawei's then-No 2 and the daughter of company founder Ren Zhengfei.
The Chinese embassy in Canada has denounced the Hikvision ban. The ban's timing is interesting. It came amid an escalating trade stand-off between Ottawa and Washington, which has been pressing Ottawa to crack down on alleged influence and vulnerabilities exposed to the Chinese government.
At almost the same time,
Beijing warned countries not to make trade deals with the US at China's expense. After US President Donald Trump's election, Hikvision took the initiative to terminate subsidiary contracts with authorities in Xinjiang. The US has alleged its hi-tech surveillance systems were used against Uygurs. Canada has had to walk a fine line even if it wanted to improve relations with China. With Trump, whether in trade or diplomacy, it has even less room to manoeuvre.
