Editorial | Canada playing a dangerous game in provoking both China and US
Ottawa’s ban of Hikvision does nothing to improve relations with China at a time when the US is being an unreliable ally to Canada
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.
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.