China is a trade bully. Trudeau needs to stop dithering and fight back

No nation-state, or individuals, should be held to ransom by China
By Diane Francis
Police officers stand guard outside the Canadian embassy in Beijing on January 27, 2019.

It’s time to stop pretending that China is an honourable trading partner.

It is a trade bully and Canada should join the Americans in waging a trade war against Beijing following years of abuse.
The U.S. has imposed tariffs, or laid charges, on China in retaliation for various unfair trade practices and theft of intellectual property, among other practices.
Canada has also been a victim. 

Beijing threw two Canadians in a Chinese jail on suspicion of espionage, and, more recently, suddenly blocked canola imports worth $2.7 billion a year. 

That’s about 40 per cent of Canada’s canola exports.
Such draconian moves were unleashed following the December detainment of Huawei’s chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou in Vancouver on charges of fraud in the U.S. 

She has been free on bail and awaits an extradition hearing this May.
This arrest was not churlish — like China’s arrest of the two Canadians — but constituted a legally binding requirement under extradition treaties. 

Canada was obliged to arrest her upon a formal request by the U.S. and hold a hearing into the merits of U.S. charges. 

The hearing may result in her being freed, or being transported to the States.
China’s measures are excessive and unjust and should be met with commensurate actions. 

Instead of dithering, the Prime Minister must announce a series of counter measures: 

• the imposition of tariffs on Chinese goods, equivalent to the damage inflicted on Canada’s exports and jailed citizens; 
• a ban preventing Huawei from doing sensitive telecom work; 
• and a revamp of trade policies and financial packages to exporters in order to incentivize businesses to pursue other markets.

Obviously, China is a huge market but it’s not the only game in town. 

Most countries don’t incarcerate innocent people or unilaterally abrogate contractual obligations.
Besides, Canada has leverage: In 2018, China bought $29 billion worth of exports from Canada, but shipped as much to Canada as it bought, or $46.4 billion, according to Statistics Canada. 

China, in other words, is more dependent on Canada than the other way around and everything not imported from China can, and should, be imported from countries that respect agreements and the rule of law.
The world is going to divide itself into trading blocs comprised of countries that share values. 

That’s why Canada’s trade with the U.S. and Europe must be its priority export targets. 

Some may argue the U.S. is not reliable, given NAFTA irritants, but these are relatively minor family squabbles. 

China, on the other hand, doesn’t hesitate to mug its trading partners.
There’s also the issue of intellectual property theft. 

The U.S. estimates this costs its economy up to US$600 billion a year. 

Its businesses claim China forces them into joint ventures with Chinese firms that then copy or steal their technologies, ignoring patents and copyrights.
This has happened here. 

For example, Imax Corp., with its giant screen technologies, fell victim to intellectual property theft and may eventually be grievously damaged globally. 

In 2014, Imax won $7 million in a Canadian court against a former employee and software engineer, Gary Tsui, who stole its technology in 2009 and then sold it to a state-owned enterprise in China. 

Tsui has remained outside Canada, ignoring a detention order and injunction by a Canadian court.
China is pushing around many countries, as I wrote recently. 

With the canola assault, it’s time to forge a “fair trading league” with others that will make it clear that an attack against one is considered an attack against all. 

And taking tough action, along with the U.S., is essential.
No nation-state, or individuals, should be held to ransom by China.