What is the People’s Republic of China to Canada? Towards a rethinking of bilateral relations

Abstract

Relations with the People’s Republic of China (PRC) will be the single biggest Canadian foreign policy challenge for the foreseeable future. The trajectory of bilateral relations will be shaped, above all, by US–PRC strategic competition. Canadian views on the PRC are defined by a litany of problems in the current relationship, with relatively little reflection on the broader and longer-term problématique. This article, adapted from a November 2020 speech to the Canada–China Friendship Society of Ottawa, proposes a reconceptualization of the PRC as Canada's “global neighbour.” On virtually all the issues that matter to Canada, the PRC is in our neighbourhood, and we are in the PRC’s, whether we like it or not. The article offers five principles for the conduct of relations with Beijing—emphasizing the importance of independence in Canadian foreign policy in the context of a Sino–US great power conflict that is likely to persist for decades.