Canada’s foreign minister calls out ‘increasingly disruptive’ China
- Melanie Joly teased parts of a new Indo-Pacific strategy, as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau prepares to attend a trio of major summits in the region
- She also warned Canadian companies to be ‘clear-eyed’ about doing business in and with China
Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly on Wednesday called out an “increasingly disruptive” China on the world stage as she teased in a speech parts of a new Indo-Pacific strategy expected to be released this month.
Her comments come ahead of several summits in the region that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is to attend, including the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) in Cambodia, the Group of 20 top economies (G20) in Indonesia, and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) in Thailand.
“China is an increasingly disruptive, global power,” Joly told a Toronto audience. “It seeks to shape the global environment into one that is more permissive for interests and values that increasingly depart from ours.”
“And China’s rise as a global actor is reshaping the strategic outlook of every state in the region, including Canada.”
In a broad outline of Ottawa’s new policy road map, which is due to be released in the coming weeks, Joly said it will be critical to expand relations with India and other countries in the region, as well as Taiwan.
In the speech, she did not discourage further trade with China, which has become Canada’s second largest trading partner, despite strained diplomatic ties.