Following years of diplomatic and trade tensions, China’s ambassador to Canada, Wang Di, insists the two countries can move past what he characterizes as “normal” differences.
“For China and Canada to bring our relationship back onto the right track, we need to seek common ground while reserving differences in a constructive way,” Wang said through a translator in an exclusive broadcast interview with CTV’s Question Period, airing Sunday.
“China and Canada have a lot of differences, and this is very, very normal,” he also said.
The relationship between Canada and China soured significantly in 2018 after Canada arrested Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou on behalf of the United States over bank fraud charges. Days later, China separately detained Canadians Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor over allegations of espionage – accusations they denied. Both men were eventually released after spending more than 1,000 days in a Chinese prison, not long after Meng herself was released from house arrest.
Speaking to host Vassy Kapelos, Wang — who assumed his role as China’s ambassador to Canada in June 2024 — acknowledged those past tensions but insisted China is “ready to move on and look ahead.”
“We are ready to work together with Canada to bring our relationship back onto the right track,” Wang said.
“But for that to happen, our relationship should be founded on the right basis,” he added, saying “First of all, China and Canada should have a correct perception of each other. Second, mutual respect is important.”
“China always regards Canada as our partner, and we hope that Canada can also regard China as a partner,” Wang noted.
Wang’s comments come as China seeks to forge stronger ties with Canada to push back against the economic impact of U.S. tariffs.
In April, U.S. President Donald Trump slapped a 145 per cent tax on Chinese imports, but has recently signalled he may lower those tariffs to 80 per cent. In retaliation, China has imposed a 125 per cent tariff on American goods.
“China stands ready to work together with Canada and all the other countries that are opposed to unilateralism and these unjustified protectionist tariffs to strengthen coordination and communication so that we can reject this unilateral bullying act,” Wang said.
China hopes to speak to new federal government ‘as soon as possible’
Last October — under the government of former prime minister Justin Trudeau — Canada followed the U.S. lead and imposed a 100 per cent tariff on Chinese electric vehicles (EVs), accusing Beijing of “distorting global trade” by exporting EVs at “unfairly low prices.”
Canada also hit China with a 25 per cent tariff on Chinese steel and aluminum.
Following its own so-called anti-discrimination investigation, China retaliated by imposing a 100 per cent tariff on Canadian canola oil and canola meal, along with several other tariffs on other Canadian agricultural products.
In 2024, Canada’s total canola exports to China were valued at almost $5 billion.
When asked by Kapelos whether the federal government has conveyed the possibility of removing tariffs, Wang defended China’s tariffs and said: “the ball is in the court of Canada.”
Wang also said Chinese officials hope to meet with the newly formed government under Prime Minister Mark Carney.
“I look forward to both sides being able to start talking about these issues in the near future, as soon as possible,” he said.
Ambassador insists China is ‘not a threat’ to Canada
During the federal election debate on April 28, Carney called China one of the largest threats when it comes to foreign interference in Canada and emerging threats in the Arctic.
Meanwhile, the final report of the public inquiry into foreign interference — released in January — described China as “the most active perpetrator of foreign interference targeting Canada’s democratic institutions” and called Canada “a high-priority target.”
The report also concluded that China “poses the most sophisticated and active cyber threat to Canada.”
When pressed by Kapelos on how Canadians could trust China to do more business with, given all the cited evidence to the contrary, Wang said “mutual respect” between the two countries is important.
The ambassador also pushed back against foreign interference concerns, saying “China has never and does not have any interest in interfering in Canada’s internal affairs.”
“It is absolutely absurd and makes no sense to smear and attack China for interfering in other countries’ internal affairs,” he added.
Back in March, relations between China and Canada took another turn after China confirmed it executed four detained Canadians for alleged drug crimes.
Pressed again by Kapelos on Canadians’ concerns based on China’s actions towards Canada in recent years, Wang insisted “the problems that happened between China and Canada were not initiated or caused by China.”
Wang also said Canada and China’s relationship is “at a very important point in time.”
“In order to rebuild mutual trust and deepen the trust between our two sides, both sides should make joint efforts to build up positive factors in our relationship,” Wang added.
You can catch the exclusive broadcast interview with Ambassador Wang Di on CTV’s Question PeriodSunday at 11 a.m. EDT.
The transcript of Ambassador Wang Di’s full interview with Vassy Kapelos for Sunday’s episode of CTV’s Question Period is below – with answers provided through a translator.
Vassy Kapelos: Hi, Ambassador, it’s a pleasure to welcome you here to the studio. Thank you for making the time.
Ambassador Wang Di: Thank you.
Vassy Kapelos: Ambassador, I want to start off and ask you what your view is of the state of the relationship between Canada and China?
Ambassador Wang Di: I think there is a very good historical foundation for the China-Canada relationship.
Vassy Kapelos: And what does that mean for the future of the relationship, Ambassador?
Ambassador Wang Di: For the future, we’re full of confidence about the relationship. As I said, there is a very good historical foundation for the relationship, and the two countries enjoy great complementarities, and we don’t have any fundamental conflict of interests.
Vassy Kapelos: I’ll ask some follow-ups on that in a moment. But first, I just wanted to drill down into how you view the relationship and the potential for it because I read an interview that you did with The Canadian Press, in which you said you saw the potential for Canada and China to form a partnership to push back against U.S. behaviour on trade. What would that look like?
Ambassador Wang Di: I think the first point is that the relationship between China and Canada and the practical cooperation between our two countries serves the interests of our two peoples. The practical cooperation between our two countries can bring tangible benefits to the people of our two countries. And this is a very strong internal driving force for our two countries to grow our relationship. And in this world full of turbulences and challenges, cooperation between China and Canada not only serves the interests of our two countries, but it will also provide positive energy and certainty to the whole world. You mentioned the unilateral, unjustified tariffs by the United States.
It is true that these tariffs have damaged the interests of the people of all countries in the world, and U.S. tariffs are in violation of WTO rules. They disrupted the international trade order. They are typical unilateral, protectionist bullying acts. Both China and Canada support free trade and multilateralism. I noticed that both China and Canada have put up countermeasures against U.S. unilateral tariffs. So China stands ready to work together with Canada and all the other countries that are opposed to unilateralism and these unjustified protectionist tariffs to strengthen coordination and communication so that we can reject this unilateral bullying act, so that we can jointly safeguard free trade and multilateralism, which is of great importance for the whole world.
Vassy Kapelos: You employed the term practical. Practical cooperation between Canada and China on a couple of occasions there. What does practical mean?
Ambassador Wang Di: By practical cooperation, I mean cooperation that can bring tangible and real benefits to the people of the two countries. As you may know, China has been Canada’s second-largest trading nation for many years. And in many areas, our two countries have had good, fruitful outcomes.
Vassy Kapelos: When you talk about free trade, though, and the value that both Canada and China place on it. Right now, it’s not free trade completely between Canada and China. There are tariffs in place on Chinese-made electric vehicles. There are counter-tariffs that China has applied to about $3 billion worth of agricultural products coming from Canada. Are there conversations happening right now between China and the federal government about removing any of those tariffs on either side?
Ambassador Wang Di: Well, last year, since Canada imposed unilateral tariffs on Chinese products, we have been maintaining communication with the Canadian side. But unfortunately, in this regard of China’s dissuasion efforts, Canada still decided to impose those tariffs on Chinese products. So China launched an investigation, and the investigation believes that these unilateral tariffs imposed by Canada are discriminatory against Chinese products. So China launched countermeasures. So I think an important point here is that China’s countermeasures are a response to Canada’s unilateral tariffs on Chinese products. So if the Canadian side can adjust its policies and tariffs, China can also adjust our policies accordingly.
Vassy Kapelos: The Canadian government says that those initial tariffs were necessary because of a very high level of subsidization. So again, protectionist measures in China. That’s their view of why they imposed them. I asked the question about whether or not there have been conversations about taking those down or the counter-tariffs down because the environment since October when they were applied has changed, given what’s going on with the United States. Do you have any indication right now that the federal government has conveyed, for example, to you or to your colleagues that there is the possibility that those tariffs are removed? That the EV tariffs are removed?
Ambassador Wang Di: Well, I think the ball is in the court of Canada. The Canadian government has expressed multiple times to us that they wish to communicate with us on these issues. Of course, the federal election happened. The new government is being formed. I look forward to that in the near future, both sides will be able to start talking about these issues as soon as possible.
Vassy Kapelos: I wanted to also ask you about one other issue where trade is concerned, and that is specifically about something domestically that is discussed a lot. Are we going to expand our energy exports, in particular, LNG and gas? And frequently in the political debate, it is brought forth that part of what we could do to help the world’s climate goals is to send more LNG to China, to allow China to use less coal. Is there a desire in China for Canadian LNG?
Ambassador Wang Di: As I said at the beginning of my remarks, there is a great complementarity between China and Canada in terms of trade, and this is also the same with the energy sector. And by that, I not only mean the conventional energy sector, but also renewable and clean energy. So in terms of conventional energy, my colleagues told me that in March this year, the import by China of crude oil from Canada was 7.3 million barrels. And Canadian friends also told me that last year, since the Trans Mountain pipeline was opened, nearly a half of the newly-added capacity went to China.
As you know, China is a very important energy importer in the world, while Canada is an important energy producer in the world. But the fact now is that Canada is ranking not very high on the list of China’s importing sources of energy. So I think if Canada’s energy is market competitive, China is, of course, willing to import Canada’s energy. I think there is great potential for both of our countries to conduct cooperation in this area. We also have great potential in the cooperation in the clean energy area. China now is a very strong innovator in its technologies of EVs and clean energy, and China is kind of a world leader in the clean energy area. If Canada has the willingness to cooperate and collaborate with China in the area of clean energy, I think there is great opportunities for us to do so, and China stands ready to make our contribution to Canada’s efforts of developing its clean energy sector and fighting against climate change.
Vassy Kapelos: You asserted, Ambassador, just jumping off of that earlier, that the possibility for that practical cooperation exists without conflict of interest. That you view there to be no conflict of interest. And I do have to respectfully challenge you because there are a lot of Canadians who have a number of concerns about China, and China’s conduct towards Canada and Canadians. Your country detained two of our citizens for more than 1000 days, and then all of a sudden, released them once the CFO of a big Chinese company was released from house arrest. Four of our citizens were executed earlier this year because of alleged drug crimes. An inquiry into foreign interference in this country asserted your country was the quote, main perpetrator of foreign interference in Canada, and that the quote PRC views Canada as a high priority target. Our prime minister in a debate just over a month ago, or just not even a month ago, when asked what the biggest security threat to Canada was, asserted it was China. Why should Canadians trust China to do more business with?
Ambassador Wang Di: China and Canada conducting practical cooperation. We have a profound historical foundation, great complementarities, and we have actual needs for those practical cooperation. Because of a reason that everybody knows about, (the) China-Canada relationship suffered setbacks in the past few years, and the causes of the event and also the merits of the case are very clear. But China now is ready to move on and look ahead. We are ready to work together with Canada to bring our relationship back onto the right track. But for that to happen, our relationship should be founded on the right basis. First of all, China and Canada should have a correct perception of each other.
China always regards Canada as our partner, and we hope that Canada can also regard China as a partner. Second, mutual respect is important, and we should respect each other on the issues concerning each other’s core interests. Mutual respect is a very important principle if one wants to have a relationship with another, and that also applies to state-to-state relations as well. Another thing for China and Canada to bring our relationship back onto the right track is that we need to seek common ground while reserving differences in a constructive way. China and Canada have a lot of differences, and this is very, very normal. Because we are different in history, we are different in culture, and we are different in political systems and many other factors. But one very important goal of two countries to develop a relationship is to serve the interests of the people of the two countries. We should adopt a people’s interest-oriented approach when we are growing our relationship, instead of allowing our relationship to be hijacked by ideological biases, and our relationship should not be allowed to be dominated by the differences.
I think you have touched upon a very important question. I think this is also a very important point that has been hijacking the China-Canada relationship since I arrived one year ago. Since my arrival here, I’ve had a lot of conversations with the Canadian people, and I found that there is a lot of people who support China-Canada friendship here in Canada. And recently, I’ve heard a lot of people calling for stronger practical cooperation with China here in Canada. But unfortunately, every time when (the) China-Canada relationship has a positive momentum, there will always be some people who view China with tinted glasses and who hype up the China threat. And this, I think, in the past few years, has been a major obstacle for our two countries to move forward our relationship. Whether China has interfered in Canada’s internal affairs and whether China is a security threat to China, I have made China’s position very clearly multiple times, and I am ready to share with you here today as well.
I can say it very clearly to you that China has never and does not have any interest in interfering in Canada’s internal affairs because noninterference in other countries’ internal affairs is an important foundation for China’s foreign policy. How come China can be a security threat to Canada? China has not imposed any unilateral tariffs on Canada, and China has not announced its intention to annex Canada as a province of China. The one who wants to rob Canada of its money and of its land is not China.
China has never, and never bosses around Canada in terms of its internal affairs. China always respects the rights of the people of all countries to choose a development path that is suitable to their national conditions independently. And actually, the fact is that China is a victim of foreign interference. I think it is absolutely absurd and makes no sense to smear and attack China for interfering in other countries’ internal affairs with all those kinds of groundless and ambiguous excuses. “I think the increasing voices calling for stronger cooperation with China here in Canada reflect the will of the people. As the two governments, what we should be doing is to start from the interests of our two peoples, listen carefully to their calls, work together in the same direction, and bring our relationship back onto the right track so that we can deliver tangible, real benefits to our two peoples. Please trust me, China is definitely an opportunity for Canada to grow its economy and provide a better life to its people. It is not a threat to Canada.”
Vassy Kapelos: “Just one final question, because if I understand you correctly, it is that there is a lot of opportunity for both countries if we are able to put our differences aside, which you characterize as normal. The issue, as I see it, is that many Canadians, based on assertions made by their own government and evidence provided by that government, do not feel the differences are normal. They do not feel that what happened to Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor was normal, or the four individuals who were executed because of alleged drug crimes, or foreign interference in our election system. I understand you deny that this is the case, but we have been shown otherwise by our own government, and I don’t think they feel that is normal. Do you understand that position?”
Ambassador Wang Di: “As I said, in the past few years, the reason for the cooling in the China-Canada relationship was very clear. The problems that occurred between China and Canada were not initiated or caused by China. If we look back on the past few years of our relationship, I think we can come to an objective conclusion. You mentioned the death penalty for four individuals in China. In China, drug crime is a serious crime. Regardless of nationality—whether they are Chinese, Canadians, or from other countries—if they have committed drug crimes, they will be held accountable according to China’s law. I think another point is that we should consider how much damage these criminals and their crimes have caused to families in China. Drug crimes have caused immense suffering to many families and individuals in China, and we should also consider their human rights and well-being. This is why China has adopted a zero-tolerance policy towards drug crimes, ensuring that the drug problem in China is not as severe as in other countries, given the population of 1.4 billion, not 40 million. If the drug problem were allowed to be rampant in China, it would not only cause damage to China but also to many other countries. China’s zero-tolerance policy towards drug crimes is not only for the well-being of the Chinese people but also for the greater good of the entire world.”
“On foreign interference, I have made China’s position very clear. All the accusations against China are based on ambiguous and groundless claims, and there is no substantiated evidence of this whatsoever. Since my arrival, I have kept telling my Canadian counterparts, ‘If you believe China is interfering in your internal affairs, please provide us with any evidence.’ But I haven’t received any evidence. We have also been asked to cooperate with investigations into some specific cases, and after thorough investigation, the allegations were not substantiated and did not exist at all. We have reported back to Canada as well. Now, we are at a very important point in the China-Canada relationship. At this time, the most important thing is mutual trust, as you mentioned. To rebuild and deepen trust between our two sides, both sides must work together to build up positive factors in our relationship. In this regard, I thank the Canadian people for their long-term support of the China-Canada relationship, and I look forward to continuing to have their support, including the support of the Canadian media.”
Vassy Kapelos: “I don’t necessarily know what that means, and I will just quickly point out that I know you say the evidence doesn’t exist, but the government has told Canadians something very different. There have been leaks of intelligence suggesting otherwise. But I will leave it at that. I appreciate the point you’ve made and thank you for making the time for this conversation. Thank you very much, Ambassador.”
Ambassador Wang Di: “Thank you for this opportunity.”
By Stephanie Ha
Published: May 11, 2025 at 5:00AM EDT
