Xi Jinping confronts Justin Trudeau at G20 over leaked conversation

Xi Jinping confronts Justin Trudeau at G20 over leaked conversationShow more

Xi scolds Trudeau for disclosing contents of a meeting between the two
A video recorded during the G20 summit in Bali shows a tense dialogue between the two world leaders. Chinese government denies that Xi has criticized Trudeau.

November 17, 2022, 11:15 am

A video released by several information sites shows Chinese President Xi Jinping berating Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau during an informal talk on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Bali, Indonesia. At issue is the disclosure of details about a previous meeting between the two leaders that did not please Xi.

In the video, Xi can be seen calling Trudeau's attention, who is listening to the simultaneous translation. “Everything we've been discussing has been revealed in the newspapers, and that's not appropriate. This is not the way a conversation should be held”, said the Chinese President, visibly irritated by the topic.

Trudeau appears somewhat surprised by the reprimand, smiles and replies diplomatically: “In Canada, we believe in free and open dialogue, and that is what we will continue to have. We will continue to look to work constructively together, but there will be things we will disagree with.”

Xi makes a few hand gestures and says "let's create the conditions first", before shaking hands with Trudeau. Then both go in opposite directions.

China's foreign ministry has denied that Xi has scolded or criticized Trudeau, describing the exchange as "very normal". "I don't think it can be interpreted as President Xi criticizing or accusing anyone," said ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning, quoted by Reuters.

At issue appears to be a meeting that Xi and Trudeau held in the early days of the G20 summit, after which Canadian government sources said the prime minister raised “serious concerns” about what he described as “interference activities” by the Chinese regime in the country. North American country.

The tense conversation between Xi and Trudeau exposes the growing degradation of relations between the two countries. Canada has accused China of trying to undermine its political system. Secret services believe the Beijing regime tried to interfere in the 2019 federal election by funding a clandestine network of pro-China candidates.

In 2018, Canadian authorities arrested a top female director of Chinese tech giant Huawei, who was wanted by the US for fraud. In response, China arrested two Canadian citizens on espionage charges. The three were eventually released.

Earlier this week, Canadian police arrested an employee of a hydroelectric company on suspicion of being a spy for the Chinese regime.