Don’t let Canada-China relations fall victim to China-U.S. rivalry

Canada’s chief of the defence staff, General Wayne Eyre, recently told the House National Security Committee that Russia and China “are not just looking at regime survival, but regime expansion. They consider themselves to be at war with the West. They strive to destroy the social cohesion of liberal democracies and the credibility of our own institutions to ensure our model of government is seen as a failure.” This is a battle cry for the creation of warring worlds—a “them or us” scenario that harkens back to the Cold War, a mindset resuscitated by then-U.S. president George W. Bush after 9/11, and recycled today by a highly integrated U.S.-Canada defence and security architecture. Is this the road that Canadians want to go down? We don’t think so. Unfortunately, the Liberal government’s “Roadmap for a Renewed U.S.-Canada Partnership” reinforces this muscular approach, dwelling on heightened military co-operation to “closely align our approaches to China.” Unfortunately, the drumbeat of China as the enemy as a basis for our foreign or defence policies too often ends up an exercise in demonization, with those opposed to such policies portrayed as disloyal or agents of China. Is it surprising that anti-Asian attacks are increasing in such an atmosphere? Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland, speaking recently at the Brookings Institute, expressed the need for the “nongeographic west” to band together and resort to “friend-shoring,” to buttress trade mainly with allies. In essence, to “decouple” from a global economy. Not only is this a Eurocentric appeal to align the “West against the rest,” but also it betrays a woeful unfamiliarity regarding globalization in which China’s economy is poised to overtake the United States by the end of this decade. China is also Canada’s second largest trading partner, and its international students are an economic mainstay of our educational system. More importantly, Asian economies, including Japan, Indonesia, South Korea and, yes, even Taiwan, are tightly integrated in a regional network with China as the hub. Idle chatter about "friend-shoring" is not about to change that. “Them and us” is seductive, particularly when authoritarianism and populism are on the rise, in the U.S. and Canada, as well as in Sweden, Italy, Austria, and France. By pounding the drums of war and construing other countries and their people as enemies, we are abetting the rise of white nationalisms and pouring fuel on the flames of populist reaction. That is why it is urgent that we “go beyond binary analyses of the global order as liberal or illiberal,” as one government adviser has wisely suggested. It is time that Europe and the Five Eyes (the U.S., Canada, New Zealand, Australia, and the United Kingdom) come to terms with the fact that we are entering a new era. Unfortunately, that message doesn’t seem to be getting through. Instead, the U.S. is embracing protectionism at home, imposing sanctions abroad, and circling the wagons in the hope of bringing its traditional allies into line. The problem for Canada is its sovereignty is both strengthened and weakened by being closely tied to the United States. Unlike other U.S. allies, Canada has less room for manoeuvre and fewer and limited regional opportunities to engage the world that are not dominated by the United States. This is a reality borne from a highly integrated U.S.-Canada defence and security architecture that emerged strongly from 9/11 onward. Indeed, as Eyre's comments make clear, Canada’s defence community shares a world view similar if not identical to that of American administrations. Despite Liberal claims they speak for Canada, there is no real consensus on these divisive issues. The fundamental problem is not just the lack of public debate. It is the realization, as unpalatable as it might be, that Canada must not only navigate a world in which it is subservient to U.S. interests, it must also find a way to offset potential harmful U.S policies that are implemented to advance American interests against Canadian interests. We shouldn’t let Canada-China relations fall victim to China-U.S. rivalry. To do so will not only harm Canada’s economy just as we are entering a recession, it will also reinforce growing doubts about this country’s ability or willingness to pursue an independent foreign policy. By taking an independent stand Canada will avoid America’s growing bipartisan push for a confrontation with China. Anything less is to diminish Canada’s capacity to show leadership on the world stage. John Price is professor emeritus of history at the University of Victoria. David Carment is a professor at Carleton University and a fellow at the Canadian Global Affairs Institute. He publishes on risk analysis and fragile states. The Hill Times