In terms of China's core interests, heshin ri'i is the term for Beijing's aggressive, not assertive, foreign policy in the past 15 years. Indeed, it's the Chinese version of Lebensraum, the “living space” foreign policy of Germany until 1945.
China and Russia are the two most successful imperialist powers in history. In 2020 they co-lead the 21st century version of the anti-democratic axis of yore , which also includes Pakistan, Iran and Turkey.
In the context of the legal aspects of the present crisis in Ottawa-Beijing relations, remarks by Professor Samantha Hoffman of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute are highly relevant:
In China there is no such thing as the rule of law. Regulations that can be largely apolitical on the surface can be political when the Communist Party of China (CCP) decides to use them for political purposes.
There are no genuine protections for the people and entities subject to the system.
I shortened my original presentation to fit within the six minutes allotted to me. Thank you very much.