Burton: How many more times will Beijing fool Canada’s politicians?

 

How many more times will Beijing fool Canada’s politicians?

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/article-canada-china-relations-politics-trade-economy/

When Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met Canadian counterpart Anita Anand for bilateral talks this spring, he said our relations must be based on “setting aside differences and seeking common ground.” But experience shows that Beijing never sets aside any differences. Rather, China expects Ottawa to simply abandon any non-trade concerns in return for greater access to the Chinese market. 

In this instance, the carrot was Mr. Wang speculating that if bilateral relations maintain “a momentum of development, and our policies remain stable and positive,” trade could grow 50 or even 100 per cent, “because China will soon become the world’s largest market, and the Chinese market is opening up to Canada more and more.”

When then-Chinese president Hu Jintao visited prime minister Paul Martin in 2005, the leaders elevated relations to a “strategic partnership” and promised to double bilateral trade within five years.

Eleven years later, premier Li Keqiang told then-prime minister Justin Trudeau that China would double trade with Canada by 2025, along with settling a dispute over canola and talks on free trade.

The promises never materialized, and Beijing’s mercantilistic regime – which strictly controls the economy to maximize state wealth and power – will never give Canada access to any significant share of China’s internal markets. Beijing sustains its economy with exports, not imports.