Election commentary: Canada's relationship with China

One of 11 commentaries from independent experts on specific fields of foreign affairs.

David Mulroney is president and vice-chancellor of the University of St. Michael’s College and author of Middle Power, Middle Kingdom.

By: David Mulroney Special to the Star, Published on Mon Sep 28 2015

The Conservative government has offered us an on-again, off-again approach to China. Relations with China were cool when Stephen Harper became prime minister in 2006, but warmed after his first official visit in 2009. They stayed warm until 2012, when Canadian concerns about Chinese investments in the oilsands prompted another period of cool relations. There was a mild rise in temperature following a 2014 visit to China, and relations have remained in that not-too-hot and not-too-cold state since.

This has a lot to do with a long-standing tendency for governments to follow, rather than lead, public opinion on international affairs.

Our foreign policy direction is now largely determined by what is likely to test best with the Canadian public, or with sub-groups that the government wishes to cultivate.

China is lionized when the objective is reaching out to Canadian voters of Chinese origin, or to the business community, and demonized when the target is Canadians who are justifiably concerned about China’s disgraceful treatment of Tibetans, Falun Gong members and human rights crusaders.

This points to an even bigger problem, and here the culprit is not merely the Harper government. It’s all of us. Making our way in an increasingly complicated world requires us to deal effectively with countries that are unlike us and, at times, unlikable.

Ignoring them doesn’t make them go away. Regardless of how we feel about it, our prosperity is increasingly linked to China’s. When China stumbles, as it has recently, we feel it, too. But it’s not just about money. Implicit in China’s challenge to U.S. leadership in Asia is a challenge to the international order that middle power Canada helped to create.

In simply reflecting back to Canadians a China policy that shifts with our own conflicted feelings, the Conservative government has put off a discussion that is long overdue. They have failed to talk about, much less craft, a real, grown-up foreign policy for Canada, one that should have a smart, principled engagement of China at its centre.

We should be ready to recognize the positive role China can and does play when it comes to global economic growth or in dealing with problems such as climate change and infectious diseases. But we should also have the courage and skill to push back when China undermines the rights of its own citizens or interferes in Canadian affairs.

On-again, off-again just isn’t good enough.