Canadian engagement with China is a hard policy to quit because it’s hard to measure. Over time, this type of foreign policy can become a reflex rather than a conscious policy choice.
With a public inquiry into Chinese interference about to begin, China may feature prominently in the Canadian news cycle in 2024 — meaning a genuine thaw in Canada-China relations isn’t in the cards.
Did the U.S. cave to China’s exercise in hostage diplomacy when it signed a plea deal with a Huawei executive that resulted in freedom for the two Michaels? Or was it China that miscalculated badly?