On camera, China’s Xi Jinping accuses Justin Trudeau of leaking informal discussion to media

The Cdn Pool cam captured a tough talk between Chinese President Xi & PM Trudeau at the G20 today. In it, Xi express his displeasure that everything discussed yesterday “has been leaked to the paper(s), that’s not appropriate… & that’s not the way the conversation was conducted” pic.twitter.com/Hres3vwf4Q

— Annie Bergeron-Oliver (@AnnieClaireBO) November 16, 2022

“That’s not how, the way the conversation was conducted. If there is sincerity on your part…” Xi further said, when Trudeau cut in to emphasise that Canada believes in free and open dialogue.

“We believe in free and open and frank 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 on,” Trudeau said.

“Let’s create the conditions first,” Xi responded, before shaking hands with Trudeau and walking off.

On Tuesday, Trudeau raised “serious concerns” over suspected domestic interference by China in his first talks with Xi in more than three years, a Canadian government source told Reuters.

The “interference” is possibly a reference to a Canadian media report from earlier this month that cited intelligence officials saying they suspected China of meddling in the 2019 election. Also, an employee at Canada’s largest electricity producer was arrested and charged by police on Monday over allegations of trying to steal trade secrets for China.

Trudeau and Xi also discussed Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, North Korea, and the importance of December’s summit in Montreal “to protect nature and fight climate change”, the source said. They also talked about “the importance of continued dialogue,” the source said.

Trudeau and Xi last met in 2019 on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Osaka, Japan. They also met once in 2015 on the sidelines of the G20 in Turkey, and twice during official visits to Beijing in 2016 and 2017.

Meanwhile, at the G20 summit, Xi also held a three-and-a-half hour closed-door meeting with US President Joe Biden.

Relations between China and Canada have remained frosty for several years, especially after Canadian authorities detained Huawei Technologies executive in 2018. Subsequently, China arrested two Canadians on spying charges.