During the meeting, the Canadian Prime Minister expressed concern about Chinese interference in his country's internal affairs

A heated confrontation between Jinping and Trudeau over leaked details of their meeting

The Chinese President speaks to the Prime Minister of Canada.

Reuters

Chinese President Xi Jinping criticized Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at the G-20 summit on Wednesday, for leaking details of an earlier meeting in which Trudeau had expressed concern about Chinese interference in domestic affairs.

The two leaders met briefly at the G-20 summit in Indonesia, and the media was able to record the confrontation that took place between them.

A television camera behind a Chinese interpreter caught in full view what the two leaders were talking about.

Jinping admonished Trudeau, saying, “Everything we discussed was leaked to the newspapers;

This is not appropriate.” Xi went on to rebuke his counterpart, “This is not the way we had the conversation, if your intention is sincere.”

Here, Trudeau interrupted the dialogue and walked towards Xi, saying to him: “In Canada, we believe in free, open, and frank dialogue, and this is what we are accustomed to.”

Xi was looking around as Trudeau spoke.

Through the interpreter, Xi replied, "Let's prepare the ground first."

Then the two shook hands after this brief confrontation.

Trudeau spoke to Xi for the first time at the G-20 summit last Tuesday.

A senior Canadian government official said the two spoke about Russia's war in Ukraine, North Korea and climate change, and that Trudeau also raised "our serious concerns about interventionism in Canada".

The official spoke on condition of anonymity, as he was not authorized to speak publicly about the matter.

Asked later at a news conference about the standoff, Trudeau said, "Every conversation will not always be easy, but it is very important that we continue to stand up for the things that are important to Canadians."

Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Jolie also said that she discussed Chinese interference with her Chinese counterpart at the G20.

Jolie said last week that China was an "increasingly irritating global power" and warned companies against deepening ties with it, saying it carried "geopolitical risks".

On Monday, Canadian police charged a Hydro Quebec employee with espionage for allegedly sending trade secrets to China.

Beijing's relations with Ottawa subsequently collapsed, and Canadian authorities arrested a senior executive from Chinese tech giant Huawei who had been charged with fraud by the United States.

China imprisoned two Canadians shortly after Canada arrested Huawei Technologies' chief financial officer, Meng Wanzhou, the daughter of the company's founder, and her arrest was based on an American request to hand her over to it.

China sent the Canadian citizens home last year on the same day Canada returned Meng to China after reaching an agreement with US authorities in her case.

Many countries described China's action as "hostage policy," while China described the charges against Huawei and Meng as a politically motivated attempt to hinder China's economic and technological development.

Come

For her part, a Chinese spokeswoman accused Canada yesterday of behaving in a "condescending manner" after the sharp confrontation between President Xi Jinping and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, which confirms the depth of the deterioration of bilateral relations between the two countries.

"Canada should take concrete measures to create conditions for the improvement of China-Canada relations," Mao Ning told a daily briefing.

She added that the conversation was "completely normal and should not be interpreted as President Xi criticizing or blaming anyone."

Mao added that there was a clear lack of respect on the Canadian side.

She stated that «China has no problem whatsoever in having a frank dialogue with other countries.

But we hope that such a frank dialogue will be based on equal treatment and mutual respect, rather than criticizing the other in a condescending manner.

Mao said that nothing Xi said should be interpreted as a threat.

"As you can see from the recording, I think it is completely normal for the two heads of state to have a short conversation during the G-20 summit...the two sides were just announcing their positions," she added.

Mao Ning:

"China has no problem at all with having frank dialogue with other countries, but we hope that such frank dialogue can be based on equal treatment and mutual respect, rather than criticizing the other in a condescending manner."

Trudeau:

"Not every conversation will always be easy, but it is incredibly important that we continue to stand up for the things that are important to Canadians."

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