It must be said that Canada in recent years has indeed been quite remarkable.
Recently, it has once again offended both China and the United States, to say nothing of other major countries like India and Russia.
Of course, there are various reasons for this.
Before heading to the Western Group of Seven Summits in Canada, Trump was in high spirits with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau; however, after returning from the NATO summit in The Hague, Trump suddenly turned against him.
Trump scathingly called Canada a fool and announced the cessation of all trade negotiations with Canada.
Trump stated: “We have just learned that Canada has just announced it will impose a digital services tax on American technology companies, which is a direct and blatant attack on our country.”
“Due to this very bad tax, we have terminated all trade consultations with Canada immediately,” Trump wrote, “We want to let Canada know within seven days how much tariffs they will pay if they do business with the US.”
Later at the White House, Trump remarked that Canada’s actions were foolish, saying, “All cards are in our hands.”
Oh, Trump also mentioned that Canada is “a country that is extremely difficult to trade with,” having imposed tariffs of up to 400% on dairy products for many years, and the recent digital tax is clearly following the EU’s example.
In other words, the 400% dairy tariff has left Trump feeling uneasy; then comes another digital tax, prompting Trump to throw his hands up in anger.
What exactly is this new digital tax?
This is a tax initiative pushed by some Western countries, specifically targeting digital companies in Canada, with a proposed tax rate of 3% starting from June 30, 2022. Of course, these digital companies mainly come from the United States, including Amazon, Google, Metaverse, Uber, etc.
Canada’s Finance Minister, Chrystia Freeland, had previously announced that the digital services tax would take effect on June 30 without any delay.
On the pressure from Trump, what does Canada think?
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stated that the Canadian government will “continue to engage in these complex negotiations with the United States for the maximum benefit of Canadian workers and businesses.”
Some Canadians found themselves both amused and perplexed, as they believed that the decision to impose a digital tax had been widely known for a long time, yet Trump was still surprised by it in his tweet.
This more resembles an extreme pressure tactic, aiming to pick on Canada to create bargaining chips for negotiations with Canada.
Of course, recent Sino-Canadian relations have also left people shaking their heads.
On June 27th, the same day Trump was pressuring Canada, Canada declared that under the so-called “national security” pretext, Haikongweixiu Technology Co., Ltd. was ordered to cease operations in Canada.
Canada’s Industrial Minister Joly stated, “The (Canadian) government has determined that Haikongweixiu Canada Limited continues to operate in Canada will harm Canada’s national security.” She also mentioned that this decision was made after a multi-step review of information provided by Canadian security and intelligence agencies.
A Chinese company threatens Canada’s national security?
Clearly, this is an infringement on the interests of Chinese enterprises and a branding and demonization of Chinese companies.
In response to the unreasonable suppression from Canada, a spokesperson for Haikongweixiu Canada Limited told Reuters, “We strongly oppose this decision and express deep concern. We believe that the decision lacks factual basis, procedural fairness, and transparency.”
The spokesperson pointed out, “(The Canadian) government seems to have evaluated based on our technology’s cybersecurity standards rather than considering our parent company’s national background, reflecting broader geopolitical tensions and an unfair bias against Chinese companies.”
A spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in Canada noted on the 28th that we firmly oppose any misuse of the concept of national security, abuse of state power to discriminate and suppress Chinese companies.
He stated that the Canadian government’s actions severely harmed the legitimate and lawful rights and interests of Chinese enterprises, disrupting and undermining the normal economic and trade cooperation between China and Canada. The Chinese side strongly disapproves and firmly opposes this. It urges the Canadian side to immediately change its tune and cease unreasonable suppression of Chinese enterprises.
Although it is merely a matter of corporate concerns, it undoubtedly poses new troubles for the turbulent Sino-Canadian relationship.
It’s quite simple: even after a change in leadership, Canada still cannot maintain a normal attitude towards Chinese enterprises. When their mentality is twisted, their actions are inevitably distorted.
Of course, Trump’s suppression of Canada was for negotiation chips; does Canada’s suppression of Chinese enterprises mean it will offer its own surrender?
Among the world’s major powers, Canada’s relations with Russia and India are particularly strained, if not more so.
Russia is beyond discussion because of the Russia-Ukraine incident, which has plunged Russia’s relations with the West into a low ebb, and has led to poor relations with Canada.
India is even more frustrating. Previously, both India and Canada claimed to be democratic nations, and their relationship was once close.
Who would have thought that Canada’s accusation of assassination by Indian government in Canada would be so serious? As a result, both countries expelled a succession of diplomats. Currently, Canada’s most resentful country is India, without a doubt; India’s most loathed Western countries are Canada, ranking number one.
There are various reasons behind these developments, but the current state of Sino-Canadian relations really leaves people speechless.
Frankly speaking, in the Chinese perception, Canada used to be quite a good image. When mentioned, people might think of internationalist soldiers like Dr. Norman Bethune or the comedian who could outdo Chinese speakers…
Even before, when Chinese people mocked corruption, they would say “there’s an overseas Canadian, and there’s a Chinese everyone takes,” showing a positive view of Canada.
The Meng Wanzhou incident is a landmark event, candidly speaking, this should be the biggest diplomatic mistake Canada has made towards China.
Remember, a remark from People’s Daily once said: The laws that the US and Canada claim to uphold are nothing more than tools for their machinations of grabbing wealth, suppressing dissenters, and seeking personal gain, lacking in fairness or legitimacy.
In the game of China-US rivalry, Canada has chosen sides with the help of allies, offering their pledges, making a historic error. It overestimates Americans’ integrity and underestimates the determination of the Chinese government.
After the Meng Wanzhou incident, China and Canada should have emerged from the low point and actively improved relations.
However, Canadian small moves at times make everything difficult.
Even after Trudeau steps down and Kenny takes over, some of Canada’s traditional practices still leave people speechless. A strong feeling is that some Canadians are too hypocritical.
While Canada talks about free trade, green transformation, and climate crisis response, when it fails to compete with Chinese products, it resorts to playing dirty tricks.
After targeting Huawei, it now targets Hikvision.
But isn’t this generalizing national security? Isn’t it using state power to suppress Chinese enterprises? Isn’t it pure trade protectionism?
What’s even more laughable is that Canada, loyal to the US, offers its pledges, but Trump first targets Canada as a symbol after taking office.
Trump is unscrupulous, not only imposing a 25% tariff on Canada but also insulting Trudeau in various occasions and openly declaring his intention to annex Canada into the United States as its 51st state.
As mentioned earlier, on the same day, Trump flipped again, halting all trade negotiations with Canada.
What is the biggest challenge and threat facing Canada today?
China and Canada, separated by a distance of over ten thousand miles, are more about cooperation and mutual benefit. China hopes that Canada can become a friend, even a good friend.
However, Canada’s greatest concern is the United States, which not only seeks Canadian wealth but also wants to take control of Canada’s body.
In response to Canada’s unreasonable actions, China has previously made firm struggles.
For example, under the Trudeau government, Canada followed the U.S. government’s lead in slamming Chinese electric vehicles and steel and aluminum products. In March this year, the Ministry of Commerce of China announced that Canada’s actions constituted discrimination and restricted trade order, damaging the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese enterprises.
Moving forward, I must apologize—China has taken a tough countermeasure—it will impose tariffs on some of Canada’s goods.
I always feel that China’s firm stance sends a strong message to Canada: we do not wish for a deadlock with Canada; however, you should not play Russian roulette or act unilaterally, otherwise, you will find yourself in trouble and humiliate yourself.
Other countries should take Canada as a lesson, China is fair and just.
I have seen that on June 28th, a spokesperson from the Ministry of Commerce of China specifically released a statement, where one part said:
China welcomes all parties to resolve economic and trade disputes through equal consultation. At the same time, it calls for all parties to always stand on the side of fairness and justice, on the side of history’s correctness, and resolutely defend international economic and trade rules and the multilateral trading system. China firmly opposes any party making deals at the expense of China’s interests to exchange for so-called tariff reductions. If such situations occur, China will not accept them and will resolutely counteract to protect its legitimate rights and interests.
China remains highly vigilant against any sacrifice of its interests. This statement should be heard by certain countries, including Canada.
Finally, I can’t help but marvel.
Canada, Canada, there will always be those who get their comeuppance!
It’s a pity that we have always been loyal to the United States, offering various tokens of our support; now, we are being stabbed in two by the United States, met with insults and slurs, making the whole world both sympathetic and amused.
Canada, Canada, how did you end up like this?