{"id":15049,"date":"2022-11-20T09:43:08","date_gmt":"2022-11-20T14:43:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bygeorgejournal.ca\/?p=15049"},"modified":"2023-07-24T20:37:51","modified_gmt":"2023-07-25T00:37:51","slug":"the-trudeau-xi-exchange-what-was-said-and-why","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bygeorgejournal.ca\/?p=15049","title":{"rendered":"The Trudeau\u2014Xi exchange: what was said and why"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Niagara Independent, November 18, 2022 \u2013<\/em> The exchange between Canadian PM Justin Trudeau and Chinese President Xi Jinping that was recorded Wednesday by the media pool at the G20 summit in Bali has gone viral. The video<\/a> generated international news headlines that screamed Xi \u201cangrily rebukes\u201d, \u201cscolds\u201d, \u201clectures\u201d Trudeau over release of details from their unofficial chat.<\/p>\n

The UK\u2019s Daily Mail<\/i> headlined: \u201cPresident Xi humiliates Trudeau as he is caught on camera tearing strips off Canadian PM.\u201d The opening sentence of this news report read more like the lead for a soap opera: \u201cToe-curling footage has emerged of Chinese President Xi Jinping humiliating Justin Trudeau with a dressing down on the sidelines of the G20 conference.\u201d<\/p>\n

Some news reports could not resist to inject humour at PM Trudeau\u2019s expense. Sun Media<\/i> newsman Brian Lilley commented, \u201cLittle Potato peeled, China\u2019s Xi dresses down Trudeau at summit.\u201d Trace Gallagher of Fox News<\/i> reported, \u201cThe PM who likes to get dressed up got dressed down.\u201d And senior editor Jack Posobiec of HumanEvents.com<\/i> was one of the first to share the breaking news with the observation: \u201cChairman Xi dresses down Justin Trudeau like a junior employee for leaking their private conversation to the media. Trudeau can barely walk after.\u201d<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s review the lead up to this spectacular showdown. Before heading to Bali, Indonesia, PM Trudeau was repeatedly asked by Canadian media whether he was going to meet with the China president. Xi was scheduled to meet formally with U.S. President Joe Biden (a three and a half hour closed-door meeting), France President Emmanuel Macron, Australia PM Anthony Albanese, UK PM Rishi Sunak as well as the leaders of the Netherlands, South Africa, Spain, Senegal, Argentina, Indonesia and South Korea. However, Canadian media widely reported that Trudeau was left out of the scheduled meetings with Xi, and this was being interpreted as a diplomatic snub for the PM.<\/p>\n

Through Sunday and Monday, the Prime Minister\u2019s Office (PMO) would not confirm whether there would be any opportunity for the PM to talk with President Xi. Yet, as fate would have it, on Tuesday at a summit reception the two found themselves face to face and had an informal discussion.<\/p>\n

With that unofficial exchange, the PMO immediately launched a PR initiative to make the most of the Trudeau\u2014Xi chance encounter. The PMO issued a readout of the conversation and provided a photo of the two leaders facing each other in the crowded reception room.<\/p>\n

It also dispatched \u201ca senior government source\u201d to comment that PM Trudeau \u201cinitiated a conversation\u201d and \u201craised serious concerns\u201d on the reports of Chinese interference in Canadian elections, Russia\u2019s invasion of Ukraine, North Korea\u2019s missile launches, December\u2019s biodiversity summit in Montreal \u201cto protect nature and fight climate change,\u201d and \u201cthe importance of continued dialog\u201d \u2013 said the source.<\/i><\/p>\n

The PMO\u2019s media assault achieved the desired result. Canadian news headlines extolled the PM: \u201cTrudeau spoke with China\u2019s Xi about \u2018interference\u2019 on sidelines of G20 summit.\u201d In Ottawa, the political pundits were roundly congratulating the PM for his forcefulness.<\/p>\n

In Bali, Chinese officials would not comment on the Canadian news reports.<\/p>\n

So, this is the background to the frank encounter between Xi and Trudeau on Wednesday. By all media accounts this second tete-a-tete in two days was a tense and difficult moment for PM Trudeau. Xi is described as \u201cvisibly frustrated\u201d seeing and pulling Trudeau aside. The Chinese president was \u201cstraight forward and blunt about his displeasure\u201d and Trudeau \u201cjust nodded while standing awkwardly as Xi continued his rant.\u201d<\/p>\n

While Trudeau was speaking, Xi \u201crefrained from making eye contact\u201d and \u201clooked disgusted.\u201d Xi interrupted Trudeau and made repeated hand gestures before smiling broadly. The video shows that he reached out to shake Trudeau\u2019s hand to end the discussion and abruptly walked away, smiling at the cameras. PM Trudeau wandered off alone, immediately leaving the public reception area.<\/p>\n

Brian Lee Crowley of the MacDonald Laurier Institute made much of Xi\u2019s body language. In a CTV News<\/i> interview Crowley assessed, \u201c<\/b>Well, clearly, you know, Xi kept trying to turn away from the prime minister. I thought his body language communicated disrespect, communicated a disinterest in what the prime minister was saying, and the esteem or lack of esteem in which Xi holds the prime minister? I mean, he basically couldn\u2019t even bring himself to look at him.\u201d<\/p>\n

The specific words spoken between the leaders was reported in Canadian media in this way: speaking in Mandarin, Xi says to Trudeau via a translator, \u201cEverything we discuss has been leaked to the paper, that\u2019s not appropriate. And that\u2019s not the way the conversation was conducted.\u201d<\/p>\n

Trudeau responds to Xi, \u201cIn Canada, 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

Xi tells Trudeau, \u201cLet\u2019s create the conditions first,\u201d before the two shake hands.<\/p>\n

However, there were additional words spoken that have been shared in foreign media reports by viewers of the video, significant comments that have been left out of most Canadian media.<\/p>\n

The translator had not finished interpreting Xi\u2019s opening comments before Trudeau cut him off. What is not reported in Canadian media is the fact that Xi called Trudeau out for not accurately reflecting their conversation, \u201cIf there is sincerity on your part, we can have conversations based on an attitude of mutual respect. Otherwise, the outcome will not be easy to tell.\u201d<\/p>\n

The other unreported comment came after the two had parted ways. Xi was smiling and passing by the camera, and he is heard to say, \u201cTruly na\u00efve.\u201d<\/p>\n

Two former Canadian Ambassadors to China had enlightened comments in media in the aftermath of the dust up. Guy Saint-Jacques surmised, \u201cClearly, Xi Jinping feels that Canada is a minor country. He doesn\u2019t have much time for Trudeau, and this shows how complicated it will be to try to restore a minimum of relations\u2026\u201d David Mulroney was more to the point in making the observation that the encounter was a \u201cstaged, public rebuke for the leader of a vassal state.\u201d<\/p>\n

As a postscript, on Thursday China foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning stated that Canada\u2019s actions in Bali were disrespectful. Mao said, \u201cChina has no problem at all with having a candid dialogue with other countries. But we hope such a candid dialogue will be based on equal treatment and mutual respect, rather than criticizing the other in a condescending manner.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mao\u2019s comment speaks directly to the too-clever-by-half political tactics of the PMO spinmeisters and our hapless PM. And on this point, Canadian Senator Leo Housakos summed up the fiasco in a tweet, \u201cInstead of addressing a very serious issue facing Canada with clarity, strength and action, Justin Trudeau as usual continues to engage in false photo-ops and naval gazing. This time, his incompetence and his weakness gets exposed on video.\u201d<\/p>\n

Chris George<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0is an Ottawa-based government affairs advisor and wordsmith, president of\u00a0CG&A COMMUNICATIONS<\/a>. Contact:\u00a0ChrisG.George@gmail.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

LINK:\u00a0 https:\/\/niagaraindependent.ca\/the-trudeau-xi-exchange-what-was-said-and-why\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Niagara Independent, November 18, 2022 \u2013 The exchange between Canadian PM Justin Trudeau and Chinese President Xi Jinping that was recorded Wednesday by the media pool at the G20 summit in Bali has gone viral. The video generated international news headlines that screamed Xi \u201cangrily rebukes\u201d, \u201cscolds\u201d, \u201clectures\u201d Trudeau over release of details from…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[85],"tags":[76],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bygeorgejournal.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15049"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bygeorgejournal.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bygeorgejournal.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bygeorgejournal.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bygeorgejournal.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=15049"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.bygeorgejournal.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15049\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15261,"href":"https:\/\/www.bygeorgejournal.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15049\/revisions\/15261"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bygeorgejournal.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=15049"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bygeorgejournal.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=15049"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bygeorgejournal.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=15049"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}