Xi Jinping Lecturing Trudeau Goes Viral: Why Are China's Ties With Canada Souring?

After a video of Chinese President Xi Jinping privately lecturing Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at G20 went viral on the internet, Beijing defensively played down the incident saying the leaders were having a frank conversation. 

What Happened: According to the video footage published by Canadian broadcasters, a translator for Xi can be heard telling Trudeau that "everything we've discussed has been leaked to the papers, and that is not appropriate.”

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"If there was sincerity on your part, then we shall conduct our discussion with an attitude of mutual respect; otherwise, there might be unpredictable consequences," Xi told the Canadian leader in Mandarin, reported CNN.

Replying to which Trudeau said, "In Canada, we believe in a free and open and frank dialogue," adding, "We will continue to work constructively together, but there will be things that we will disagree on."

The relations between Ottawa and Beijing have remained tense following a string of disputes between the two countries — including arrests of the Huawei executive Meng Wenzhou, Canadian businessmen Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, along with recent reports of China's involvement in the country's federal elections.

Earlier this month, Trudeau had also alleged that Xi's government was playing “aggressive games” by interfering in the country's polls and undermining its democracy. For this, Beijing had urged Ottawa to stop making remarks that hurt the relations between the two nations, according to Reuters. 

In October, Canada's federal police force had said it was investigating reports that secret Chinese "police stations" are operating in Toronto as it warned that foreign states might seek to intimidate or harm communities or individuals within the country, reported The Guardian.

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