Ottawa has announced the expulsion of a Chinese diplomat it accuses of seeking to intimidate a Canadian lawmaker and his family over his criticism of Beijing. China has considered that Canada has "sabotaged" relations, vowing to take "countermeasures".
"Canada has decided to declare Zhao Wei persona non grata. We will not tolerate any form of interference in our internal affairs," said a statement by Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Jolie, noting that "diplomats in Canada have been warned that if they engage in this type of behavior, they will be kick them out."
The expulsion of the Chinese diplomat comes in the wake of Canadian MP Michael Chong's denunciation of a report in the Globe and Mail newspaper last week that the government had turned a blind eye to Beijing's meddling in Canadian affairs.
The newspaper quoted confidential documents and an unnamed security source as saying that the Chinese intelligence agency planned to target Zhong and his relatives in Hong Kong with sanctions, because of his vote in February 2021 in favor of a law condemning Beijing's actions in Xinjiang as genocide.
In turn, Beijing considered that Canada had "sabotaged" relations between the two countries by expelling the Chinese diplomat, vowing to take "countermeasures".
"The Chinese side will take firm countermeasures, and all the consequences that will ensue will be the responsibility of the Canadian side," said a statement issued by the Chinese embassy in Canada, calling on Ottawa to "step back from the brink."
Last week, Beijing condemned what it described as "baseless slander and defamation" by Canada, which summoned the Chinese ambassador in Ottawa over the case.
China's Foreign Ministry denied any wrongdoing and stressed that the case had been "hyped up" by some Canadian politicians and media.
Beijing calls Washington for "stable relations" with it after the balloon incident
Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang told US Ambassador Nicholas Burns that the urgent task is to stabilize relations between China and the United States and prevent accidents between the two countries, after the strained relations between them following the spy balloon incident in early February.
China said its foreign minister, Chen Gang, held talks with the US ambassador on Monday, during which he said the "top priority is to stabilize relations" between the two rival powers.
Chen's discussions with Nicholas Burns in Beijing are one of the highest-level meetings between the two countries since Washington shot down a supposed Chinese "spy balloon" over the United States in early February.
The incident prompted US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken to abruptly cancel a rare visit to China.
According to Chinese state media, Chen told Burns that "the top priority is to stabilize Sino-US relations, avoid a vicious circle and avoid incidents between China and the United States."
"This should be the basic consensus between the two countries, and it is also the minimum that must be adhered to in relations between countries, especially relations between two major countries," the Chinese foreign minister added.
He also assured the US ambassador that the relations between the two countries are of "great importance", but that "a series of wrong words and deeds on the part of the United States" have undermined their progress since Chinese President Xi Jinping met his US counterpart Joe Biden in Bali last November.
On Monday, Chen Gang headed to Europe, where he will meet German Foreign Minister Annalina Bierbock and his French counterpart, Catherine Colonna, before heading to Norway.
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