By Canadian Press

Foreign minister Joly begins Asia tour in Indonesia and Vietnam with call to Beijing

Apr 12, 2022 | 1:49 PM

OTTAWA — Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly says Canada and China disagree on many things but Beijing’s buy-in is essential on one key issue — helping end the Russian war on Ukraine.

Joly tells The Canadian Press that is a message she delivered in her phone call last week with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi before arriving this week in Southeast Asia for a two-country trip that has one overarching purpose: delivering the Liberal government’s long-promised Indo-Pacific strategy.  

The Indo-Pacific label is foreign policy shorthand for policies and approaches to the vast Asia-Pacific region that are meant to exclude China in an attempt to deal with its massive influence in the region.

It was the first time the foreign ministers of Canada and China spoke since the September 2021 release of two Canadian men, Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, from the nearly three years in Chinese prisons, an incident that plunged Sino-Canadian relations to an all-time low.

The two men were arrested in apparent retaliation for Canada arresting Chinese tech executive Meng Wanzhou on an American extradition warrant in 2018.

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The matter was only resolved when the U.S. Justice Department withdrew its extradition request, which paved the way for what was essentially a prisoner swap.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 12, 2022.

The Canadian Press