Foreign Affairs committee  It is.

Canada-China Relations committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair and members of the committee. My colleagues and I are very grateful today to have the opportunity to give you some background on China and Canada's relationship with it. Let me start by acknowledging the preoccupation that I know we all have with the coronav

Canada-China Relations committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair. Let me say that over the past 14 months our priority has been to resolve a number of the challenging issues that have arisen in our relationship with the People's Republic of China, starting with the detention of Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor. The Gove

Canada-China Relations committee  Mr. Chair, the countries that have engaged in support with us have made both public and private representations at many levels to the Government of China on these issues. In addition to this, I would also like to discuss the trade side a little bit, because that has been one is

Canada-China Relations committee  Absolutely. The Government of the United States has spoken out against the arbitrary detention of Mr. Spavor and Mr. Kovrig, Mr. Chair. There have been resolutions in the House of Representatives, for example, decrying the detention of these two individuals. All of our allies—

Canada-China Relations committee  Mr. Chair, the United States is as concerned as we are with the arbitrary detention and arrest by Chinese authorities of Mr. Kovrig and Mr. Spavor. It has supported us both publicly and privately through diplomatic channels in making representations to the Government of China abo

Canada-China Relations committee  Mr. Chair, this is a complicated issue, clearly. It involves delicate diplomatic relationships. It is not entirely within the control, as you would know, of the Government of Canada. We have made best efforts across a variety of diplomatic channels and working with our allies, in

Canada-China Relations committee  Let me just say that in the trade aspects of the relationship, as you're aware, the current canola seeds market issue with the Government of China has had a big impact on Canadian farmers. The Government of Canada is taking action through the rule of law and the processes that ex

Canada-China Relations committee  Canada will continue to pursue this through the WTO, which is the established mechanism to resolve trade disputes. That reinforces our commitment to the rule of law and to using established processes to resolve these disputes.

Canada-China Relations committee  Mr. Chair, my colleague Steve Verheul will be very well placed to give more detail on trade agreements, but I would just say that they generally take quite a while to negotiate, and particularly where the partner is a complicated and a large partner, such as China is for Canada.

Canada-China Relations committee  Depending on the country involved and the complexity of issues, it could easily take that long.

Canada-China Relations committee  There's been a lot written about the strategic rivalry between a status quo power and an emerging power. This might make a great future study for the committee. There are many views to take into account. As a middle power, Canada has relied strongly on international rules and n

Canada-China Relations committee  Yes, that is absolutely correct. You will see during your investigation by the committee, I'm sure, Mr. Chair, that a number of countries have had challenges in their relationship with China. In many cases, these challenges can take quite a while to resolve.

Canada-China Relations committee  Yes, Mr. Chair. We have really benefited from the support and strength of many like-minded countries on this issue. This has required a significant effort at all levels of the Government of Canada, starting with the Prime Minister, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and all of our

Canada-China Relations committee  Thank you. The Public Health Agency of Canada has the lead in coordinating the domestic efforts to manage the outbreak of the coronavirus. Global Affairs Canada is focusing on the well-being of Canadians in China and travel advice and also on the well-being of our consular and d