Canada and China: Looking to the Future
In January 2022, you joined Beyond the Headlines to learn about the past and present of Canada’s relationship with China. Today, we bring you a panel discussion about the future of Canada - China relations. China is rapidly ascending to become the world’s most powerful economy, and there is no denying that China has added value to the lives of many Canadians who regularly purchase goods and services developed in China. However, China is a complex nation, much larger in terms of population than Canada, and with a radically different worldview than our own. Some would even argue that China is a hostile power which threatens western civilization. In this spirit, we sit down with an open mind to understand a basic set of questions: What does China want (and why)? What does Canada want (and why)? And are there any notable areas of overlap & divergence that could enable us to either create or destroy value in the future.
Guests:
Professor Paul Evans is based at the Institute of Asian Research and the Liu Institute for Global Issues within the University of British Columbia where he is the HSBC Chair in Asian Research. Professor Evans is author of the 2014 book: Engaging China: Myth, Aspiration and Strategy in Canadian Policy from Trudeau to Harper, as well as co-editor of the 1991 essay collection: Reluctant Adversaries: Canada and the People’s Republic of China, 1949-1970.
Professor Bernie Frolic, is Professor Emeritus of Political Science at York University where he is executive director of the Asia Business and Management Program. He first visited China in 1965 and was First Secretary in the Canadian Embassy Beijing in the 1970s. Professor Frolic is notably the author of Mao’s People: Sixteen Portraits of Life in Revolutionary China, and Canada and China: A Fifty-Year Journey which was published in May 2022 and draws upon interviews with 5 Canadian Prime Ministers, 35 ministers, and 40 members of Global Affairs Canada, in addition to extensive archival research and his own personal experiences.
Further Reading:
Frolic, B. M. (2022). Canada and China : A Fifty-Year Journey. University of Toronto Press.
Evans, P. M. (2014). Engaging China : Myth, Aspiration, and Strategy in Canadian Policy from Trudeau to Harper. University of Toronto Press.
Chase, S. (2022, October 17). Western countries already embracing ‘friend-shoring’ to reduce trade with authoritarian regimes, Freeland says. The Globe and Mail.
Attributions:
Intro by Quantum Jazz is licensed under a Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 International License.
Jingle Jazz by Quantum Jazz is licensed under a Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 International License
Producer:
Connor Fraser - @RealCJFraser
