Canada and China expel diplomats in tit-for-tat


Briefly: Canada declared Chinese diplomat Zhao Wei ‘persona non grata’ this week, expelling him for his alleged role in an effort to intimidate a Canadian lawmaker. China responded by expelling a Canadian diplomat the next day.

What was it all about?

  • 🙅‍♂️ The Canadian politicianhad backed a 2021 parliamentary motion to condemn Beijing’s treatment of its Uyghur population
  • 🔎 In response, the Chinese diplomat (Zhao) allegedly helped target the Canadian politician’s family in China for possible reprisals. Yikes.

Canada’s intelligence service first detected all this back in 2021, but the story stayed under wraps until a top secret report was leaked to media this month. And that piled the pressure on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to boot Zhao.

The last time Canada did this was in 2018, when Ottawa (politely) booted four Russian diplomats in response to Moscow’s poisoning of an ex-spy in the UK.

Intrigue’s take: You might be wondering why Zhao was allowed to remain in Canada for two years after his behaviour was discovered. And you’re not alone – the Canadian politician at the centre of the furore has asked the same question.

The answer might be a simple stuff-up: the prime minister says nobody told him about the case (Trudeau didn’t have a national security advisor at the time).

And the answer might relate to asymmetry. China can absorb more diplomatic expulsions, impose more trade costs, and impose heavier personal costs on Canadians in China (including several on death row) than the inverse.

And that’s enough for most governments to weigh up their options very carefully.

Also worth noting:

Latest Author Articles
COP28 off to a solid start

Just as our co-founder Helen sets foot in Dubai, there’s a major breakthrough: after months of negotiations, nearly 200 nations have agreed on how to run a ‘loss and damage fund’ to help poorer countries weather the impacts of a changing climate.

1 December, 2023
India prepares to build a third aircraft carrier

India is set to add a third aircraft carrier worth $5B to its fleet, with its Defense Acquisition Council likely to clear the deal on Friday, according to Bloomberg.

29 November, 2023
North Korea scraps key military pact with the South

Following the launch of North Korea’s first spy satellite on Tuesday night, and South Korea’s resumption of border surveillance in response, the North scrapped a key military pact between the two neighbours yesterday (Thursday).

24 November, 2023
Did India try to assassinate a US citizen on US soil?

The US has thwarted a plot to assassinate a Sikh activist on American soil, and issued a warning to India over its possible involvement, according to the Financial Times.

23 November, 2023