It's an honour for me to be able to speak to you on such an important topic.
In late 2022, we see a relationship between Canada and China that remains very cool and is characterized by minimal engagement despite the importance of the issues in play.
While the release of Huawei's CFO Meng Wanzhou and Canadians Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor over a year ago has removed the factors that weighed most heavily on the relationship, I see no significant rebound or any sign of a return to the previous complex web of exchanges at the leadership level, at the ministerial level or by federal and provincial officials.
Stringent COVID restrictions on the Chinese side have also prevented a resurgence of business visitors in both directions. The flow of Chinese students to Canada has partially resumed, but the nearly million-strong prepandemic wave of Chinese tourists to Canada awaits, at a minimum, the lifting of COVID regulations in China.
Beyond these mechanics, if I might say, of diplomatic, commercial and people-to-people connections, the erosion of trust on both sides, in my view, makes any early return to a pre-2019 bilateral relationship unlikely in the foreseeable future. An additional restraining factor is the predominantly negative view of China held by the Canadian public and media. On the Chinese side, the state-controlled media has lightened its criticism of Canadian policies towards China since the release of Meng Wanzhou, but there's a wariness that remains, in my view, on the part of Chinese officials towards Canada. One could say the relationship is in stasis or even stagnation.
Complicating any return to a more normal and more positive state-to-state relationship is the emergence of a number of Chinese domestic and international factors. I'll cite them very quickly. I've listed eight, I think.
The U.S.–China relationship is strained and getting more difficult, where both U.S. and PRC leaders engage in regular direct criticisms. There are the U.S. and PRC legislative and regulatory moves to restrict trade and investment.
The emergence of Taiwan is arguably the highest profile issue dividing Washington and Beijing. It is the factor that, in my view, has the greatest potential to generate open warfare between the two adversaries, with consequences, of course, for Canada.
Beijing's crackdown on Hong Kong—a territory with deep Canadian historical links and a massive constant presence of Canadian citizens—using the national security law hangs like a sword over our relationship with Hong Kong and with China.
Xinjiang, like Tibet, has been a matter of human rights concern for decades. I first visited in 1983 and I've seen a steady deterioration, not at the same pace, over time. Ongoing hardline Chinese policies show no sign of softening. I would note that while western concerns regarding Xinjiang are widely shared, most less-developed countries and Muslim-majority states remain silent on Xinjiang, which I think is unfortunate.
Allegations of interference in Canadian political affairs erode both public and government support for enhanced relations with Beijing.
Limited Chinese support for Moscow's war in Ukraine is unhelpful, although there are signs of an increasing Chinese wariness regarding Russian war aims.
The pending announcement of a Canadian Indo-Pacific strategy will be seen, or at least portrayed, by Beijing as part of a U.S.-led strategy to isolate and contain China.
The positive side is limited. Bilateral trade is relatively stable, although with the exceptions of western agricultural products and Atlantic seafood, our exports have a very low profile with Canadians. Chinese imports continue to be roughly triple the size of our exports. The movement to reduce dependence on Chinese supply chains is very modest.
Whatever one thinks of Chinese domestic and international policies, I see danger in the absence of substantive dialogue between Ottawa and Beijing. U.S. Defense Secretary Austin last week lamented the suspension by China of regular military consultations between the U.S. Department of Defense and the PLA, recognizing this gap carries risks, especially in a crisis. Similarly, the absence of sustained communication between our capitals, Ottawa and Beijing, carries risks and even lost opportunities for Canada.
In late September, the China Institute at the University of Alberta and the People's Republic of Chinse People's Institute of Foreign Affairs—it's a quasi-government body—held one of the few, if not the only remaining, consultations with Chinese officials and former officials. That dialogue has some value, but it doesn't begin to be a substitute for a robust range of official exchanges.
Finally, other than limited prospects, I don't see a swift return to a normal bilateral relationship given the issues I've cited. Barring a new and sharply negative event, which is always possible, the mostly likely course might be a slow return to a more regular pattern of exchanges and visits, such as our European allies have in general. It would be limited, again, by the issues I've provided above. Dialogue and communication of divergent positions need not mean either weakness or appeasement.
Thank you.
The Chair: Thank you, Professor Houlden.
Now we'll go to Professor Ong. You have up to five minutes for your statement.
Dr. Lynette Ong (Professor, Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy, University of Toronto): Thank you for the opportunity to testify before the special committee. It is my honour to be here.
Leading up to the 20th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party, scheduled for October 16, a lot is at stake. President Xi Jinping is widely expected to be appointed for a third term and to hold on to power for at least another five years.
I would like to offer three predictions on the political and economic landscapes of China in the next five years, with implications for our bilateral relations.
Number one is that President Xi will be further consolidating his authority within the party’s upper echelons of power. With his various political campaigns launched in the last decade, most notably the anti-corruption campaign, President Xi has eradicated not only corrupt officials but also members from rival factions.
The foundation of elite support is changing, however, from one that is united by spoils to one that is increasingly ruled by fear. For decades since the reform and opening, spoil sharing has been the glue, in my view, that holds the system together. The arrangement has been eroded by Xi’s attempt to curtail crony capitalism and to reduce the role of entrepreneurs, but a system that is ruled by fear will likely and most probably be less stable than one that's underpinned by the sharing of spoils.
Number two is that at the non-elite level, the party may appear to have a strong grip on society, continuing its stranglehold on civil society while doubling down on surveillance and stability maintenance. However, this facade belies a society that is becoming more contentious and fractious in the coming years, short of large-scale collective actions or social movements.
In the past six months, the first signs of an increasingly restless society have emerged with popular discontent with zero COVID. We've seen the responses to zero COVID evolve from one of widespread compliance in the first 18 months to growing in-person resistance and strident discordance on the Internet.
As I argued in my recently published book, Outsourcing Repression: Everyday State Power in Contemporary China, which is based on a decade-long study of how the Chinese state implements its very ambitious urbanization policy—which has a lot of similarity with zero COVID—non-state actors, such as grassroots brokers and volunteers, play an outsized role. Because these people are embedded within the society and trusted by the community, their administration of everyday policies is more likely to result in compliance than if government officials were sent to do the same jobs. The strategy of outsourcing social control to selected members of society has been fundamental to the exercise of everyday state power in China.
However, recent events have tested the limits of this hugely successful strategy. As zero-COVID policies become more nonsensical, people are required to sacrifice their personal freedom and, at times, be separated from their loved ones and denied medical care because they cannot produce a vaccine certification. We will see discordance being amplified and people becoming more blasé and restive.
As Xi tightens the grip on society after the party congress, we might see more signs of dissidence, as we did with the extremities of the Great Leap Forward in the early 1950s under Mao. Chinese society will inevitably become more contentious, despite political repression.
Lastly, number three is that the risk factors for the Chinese economy have also been amplified. The Chinese economic model has traditionally relied on the real estate sector as a growth engine. That is grinding to a halt as the economy slows. In the past summer, many households across the country that paid advance deposits but ran into failed projects organized a large-scale collective action to pressure the government for a rescue plan. Such large-scale collective action is very rare in China, so we should take it seriously as a sign of something bad to come.
In summary, all is not well on the economic front.
To sum up, in both the economic and the political sense, China is undergoing some structural transformation, which creates enormous uncertainty for its domestic and social stability, as well as foreign diplomacy.
Foreign countries that can effectively deal with China are those that have the capacity to conduct scenario planning and to devise action plans to respond to a range of diverse scenarios in the coming years. No one can be absolutely certain in which direction the political winds will actually blow. We must be prepared to change and adapt our strategy swiftly when necessary, and strong China endowment actually begets this adaptive capacity.
Thank you.
The Chair: Thank you, Professor Ong.
Ms. Calverley, you have up to five minutes for your statement.
Ms. Aileen Calverley (Co-founder and Trustee, Hong Kong Watch): Thank you, Mr. Chair
Thank you, members, for the opportunity to testify before this committee.
Far too often, the relationship between Canada and the PRC is framed through the narrow lens of trade and business. The public is told that China is too much of an economic opportunity for us to risk alienating the Chinese government by raising human rights, yet Canadian trade with China in 2021 accounted for just over 4.6% of our total exports.
Similarly, what is often ignored in this debate is that much of the goods we export to China are the raw materials that its economy relies on. For example, even at the height of its trade war with Australia, the PRC continues to import substantial amounts of iron ore it cannot source elsewhere. This reflects the limited ability of the PRC to put countries with export-led economies in what it calls the “economic freezer”.
Hong Kong Watch’s ESG report—our new research—shows that the passive investment strategies pursued by both the leading Canadian federal and provincial pension funds, as well as university endowment funds, have failed to properly factor in human rights considerations when investing in portfolios for our Canadian pensions. The holding of emerging market funds includes Chinese companies linked to forced labour. I hope this is an area that this committee can investigate further in a separate inquiry.
Canada continues to have a special interest in the human rights situation in Hong Kong, not least because of the 300,000 Canadians who have made Hong Kong their home and the 500,000 Hong Kong Canadians who continue to worry about the safety of their families and friends. The human rights situation in Hong Kong has been deteriorating rapidly since the introduction of the national security law in 2020. Beijing continues its crackdown on the pro-democracy movement in Hong Kong.
The 90-year-old Cardinal Joseph Zen, along with five other trustees, including Canadian Denise Ho of the 612 Humanitarian Relief Fund, stood trial a week ago. Forty-seven pro-democracy Hong Kongers are charged under the national security law simply because they joined a primary election. Five speech therapists who published a children's book series called the “Sheep Village” were recently convicted of sedition.
With the situation on the ground continuing to deteriorate by the day, Hong Kongers are looking for a way out of the city, not only to preserve their own safety and security but to seek a better future for their families. The Hong Kong pathway open work permit scheme announced by Canada two years ago is a start, but there are many gaps that need to be addressed.
For example, the five-year restriction poses a barrier to many Hong Kongers, even for recent graduates who meet the requirement at the time of application. By the time their work permit is received and the hours of work requirement is fulfilled, they might already have fallen out of eligibility to apply for permanent residency under stream B of the scheme.
Canada has set the immigration target of over 400,000 immigrants per year in the coming few years. Expanding and extending the Hong Kong pathway can help meet this target. The founder of the pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily, Jimmy Lai, is in custody. His arrest and detention is the evidence of the CCP's crackdown on press freedom in the city. According to the Hong Kong Journalists Association, the press freedom index is at a record low. The Hong Kong government is also now looking to enact a “fake news” law, under which the government can be empowered to issue a decree for false information to be removed.
Many frontline human rights defenders—such as journalists, pro-democracy activists, lawmakers and medical professionals—are currently not covered by Canada's open work permit scheme. We recommend that the government create a human rights defender category to address this gap, similar to the current policy for Ukraine.
Even Hong Kongers who are able to immigrate to Canada are not free from the far-reaching hand of the CCP regime. Chinese police are setting up offices in Canada where dissidents continue to be harassed and intimidated by agents acting on behalf of the CCP. The threat is not faced by Hong Kongers alone, but also by Uighurs, Tibetans and Chinese dissidents alike. The CCP's United Front overseas department has one of the most sophisticated foreign interference operations in Canada, which is discussed at length in China Unbound by Joanna Chiu and in Hidden Hand by Clive Hamilton.
This operation is not only designed to keep Chinese citizens, Hong Kongers, Tibetans and other activists under close supervision and, in some instances, used to target and intimidate them, but it also is used to actively interfere in Canadian politics.
The Chair: Ms. Calverley, I think we'll call time now because we need to get into our questions. However, if you have further points to make, perhaps you can work them into some of the answers that you provide.
Thank you very much.
Ms. Aileen Calverley: Yes, that's good. Thank you.
The Chair: We will now go to our first round.
Ms. Dancho, you have six minutes.
Ms. Raquel Dancho: Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you to the witnesses for being with us and providing excellent testimony.
I have a few questions for Professor Houlden.
I appreciated very much the way that you laid out your opening remarks. It was great to understand. Having listened to a lot of opening remarks, I really appreciated how well you did that, so thank you.
Mr. Gordon Houlden: Thank you.
Ms. Raquel Dancho: I want to get your expert opinion on a few of the agreements that Canada has not been invited to the table as an ally or as part of several alliances that have been undertaken in recent years in the Indo-Pacific, notably, the trilateral security pact between the U.S., U.K. and Australia, commonly known as AUKUS. Can you comment on whether Canada should be pursuing a seat at the table there?
Mr. Gordon Houlden: I'm in favour of Canada being a joiner. We're a member of more international organizations than almost any other state. However, there is a problem that emerges with Asia-Pacific, with the Pacific in general and even with the Indo-Pacific. With all due respect for our military, for which I have the highest respect—I went to our national defence college at one point—our Pacific forces are extremely modest. We lack even the legs or the means to get our ships readily to Asia without the help of our southern neighbour. A number of our ships are getting older. Our air force is not new. We're a minor player. I think that, as long as that remains true, it's hard for us to be taken as seriously or to be an active member of those organizations.
When it comes to trade, there are more substantive links. We have, obviously, huge people-to-people links because Asia is the number one source of our immigration, etc. The AUKUS arrangement between the U.K., Australia and the United States has a particular focus on defence equipment, which I don't think Canada seems ready to acquire. When you think about our submarines, we went that route once, but it was never finished. I'm a bit skeptical it would happen.
However, I do believe that we should be at more tables in Asia. We shouldn't assume, though, that it's simply a question of asking. Our attention to that region has been episodic. It's alive for a while, and then it dies off. The question will be, in Asian capitals—in my view—whether we are going to show up on a regular basis and whether we can be counted on. If we can generate a sustained effort to be an active part of that region despite the distances, that's a great thing.
Ms. Raquel Dancho: I'm wondering if you can comment as well on the quadrilateral security dialogue. Should we be pursuing a membership here?
Mr. Gordon Houlden: I would say yes. Members are going to ask what we have to bring to the table. I would argue that it is now too modest in terms of the military presence, the political clout and the apparent long-term commitment of governments—plural—in the past. I think this is not something that could be done tomorrow. That right will have to be earned and not simply, “Can we join? Thank you very much.” This is something that might be a longer-term goal, but I think it has to be presaged by that investment—military, political and economic—in the relationships with Asia. Then that fruit might fall into our lap.
Ms. Raquel Dancho: It sounds like Canada has a lot of work to do to be invited and welcomed to the table in these key security alliances.
What would be the impacts to Canada long term if we just allowed the status quo, our presence as it is now, to continue? Can you explain in layman's terms why you think it's important? It sounds like you think it's very important. Can you explain that to the committee?
Mr. Gordon Houlden: I think it will just bump along where we're at. In other words, if you want to know what will happen if we don't do anything dramatic or significant or substantive, it will be like it has been. My warning here is that, historically, when the security situation in Asia has gone very badly wrong, when it has gone south.... I'm thinking of 1941, when the troops in Hong Kong were overwhelmed. I'm thinking of the Korean War, when all of a sudden within months we were fighting with desperation in the Korean peninsula. One could even say that 9/11 catapulted, with almost no warning, into a west Asia conflict.
We are a small player and probably always will be, but if we don't pay close attention and we don't have some substantive contribution to make in terms of hardware, attention and political effort, we'll find ourselves just dragged willy-nilly into situations where we'll be severely impacted and have little warning and little opportunity to shape the response.
Ms. Raquel Dancho: I think about the response we had to the two Michaels and the various agricultural issues we've faced with our trade. It's been talked about at this committee quite significantly how much Canada depends on China for trade, and likely vice versa. I feel that because we're not part of these alliances, we're not being invited to the table and we're not investing in the resources you've outlined, Canada is at risk of being pushed around by bigger players, particularly China, when they want to do something. For example, we recently heard reports that they have set up three satellite police stations in the Toronto area.
Does not having a presence and not taking this perhaps as seriously as we should not impact our options of how we respond to, for example, these satellite police stations that are reportedly in Toronto?
Mr. Gordon Houlden: It's a very complex question, and I appreciate it.
I'm in my 36th year of full-time work on China. In my experience, when it comes to political interference, to espionage if you wish, or to just unwarranted interference, it's a bit like crabgrass: You pull it up but it grows back. The idea that you're going to take one step and it'll be gone is not realistic. I think it takes vigilance.
You're quite right, in my view, that a higher-profile presence in Asia will help, but as I said in my remarks, I think close attention to China itself and having a dialogue with them, being able to speak to senior officials.... I know every Canadian ambassador. I've met every Chinese ambassador to Canada since we established relations in 1970, some of those when I was still just a student. I know that we've had these problems, but some of them have been to go in to speak to the ministers of public security or state security and say, “Look, this is unacceptable. If you do this, we will do that.”
That kind of dialogue is not—
The Chair: Professor Houlden, I'm sorry I'll have to intervene. We're quite over time.
Mr. Gordon Houlden: Of course. Thank you.
Ms. Raquel Dancho: Thank you, Chair.
The Chair: Thank you, Ms. Dancho.
Now we go to Ms. Yip for six minutes.
Ms. Jean Yip: That was a nice surprise.
I want to thank the witnesses for coming at this very late hour to be part of this committee meeting.
My first question is to Mr. Houlden and Ms. Ong.
In your opening statement, Mr. Houlden, you mentioned “Stringent COVID restrictions...have...prevented a resurgence of business visitors”. Can you comment further on that? What is the economic impact?
Mr. Gordon Houlden: We have a very large cohort of Canadians of Chinese heritage. They would normally, and do, start up businesses. They often have or come to Canada with trade contacts, but it's not just those. The officers of not just Asian private companies, but CEOs and CFOs of large Canadian companies would normally be filling those business seats in aircraft between Shanghai and Vancouver, between Toronto and Hong Kong, etc.
Much of the trade is on autopilot and can be done remotely, as I am speaking today virtually, but particularly when it comes to investment, particularly when it comes to a company deciding that they're going to spend a lot of money developing the Chinese market for their products, there is nothing that substitutes for face to face. With COVID restrictions, which are still in place—hopefully for 2023 it will be in a different place—it's a bit like the shoe that didn't drop. You don't know what you've missed if it hasn't happened.
The trade has been maintained more or less on a stable basis, but we can't know what might have happened if we could have had a more normal exchange of business people in both directions. You can't quantify that. I am confident, though, that there are deals that have been missed and that there are exports that could have taken place that did not because of the COVID restrictions, which have also slowed the Chinese economy as well.
Ms. Jean Yip: Ms. Ong.
Dr. Lynette Ong: I think very stringent COVID restrictions have had various impacts on the Chinese economy. I think, number one, it sends bad signals to foreign investors, such as the president of the European Chamber of Commerce who has been making almost weekly press statements, saying how it has actually impacted European businesses and their business confidence in China.
Over the last decade, due to rising labour costs and various costs such as economic de-coupling, companies have been moving their factories abroad and away from China, and that has happened constantly. I think with zero COVID restrictions and how enduring that has been, the trend has definitely been accelerated.
On a much broader scale, I think foreign businesses read that as emblematic of economic policies that are coming out from Xi Jingping's regime—economic policies that are no longer pro business, which are becoming more and more nonsensical just for the sake of maintaining social control. That is coming as a trade-off to business friendliness.
Ms. Jean Yip: You do not see these COVID restrictions lifting any time soon, whether it's for social control or for health?
Dr. Lynette Ong: No. I think a year ago, if you had taken a straw poll of China observers, people would have said that those restrictions might be lifted after the Party Congress, but I think the consensus now is that, more or less, the restrictions wouldn't be lifted any time soon.
I think these COVID restrictions are just a sign of the nature of policies that have been formulated and implemented by Xi's regime lately.
Ms. Jean Yip: In your opening statement you mentioned that President Xi was reducing the role of entrepreneurs. Why is that?
Dr. Lynette Ong: In very simple terms, also for the reasons of increasing state control.
China has always been described as one of state advancement, and the private sector's role being reduced. This is for increasing political control, maintaining social control, and then the party being suspicious of the outside role of entrepreneurs, particularly tech entrepreneurs.
We have seen Jack Ma and various IPOs of big tech firms from China, and how they have been de-listed over the past year.
Ms. Jean Yip: Thank you.
Ms. Calverley, would you like to finish the rest of your opening statement?
Ms. Aileen Calverley: This is what we saw in the recent federal election, where the United Front used WeChat to spread misinformation regarding parliamentarians critical of the CCP in a number of ridings to influence the outcome of the election.
Canada must stand firm in our resolve in providing Hong Kongers with a safe route out of the city and to safeguard their rights, freedoms and security once they are on Canadian soil.
Thank you.
Ms. Jean Yip: What steps do you feel that the Canadian government can take to encourage ethical investing?
Ms. Aileen Calverley: There are two sides we need to consider: the first is legislation, the second is country risk analysis. For example, let me talk about country risk analysis first. I think, a year ago—
The Chair: Excuse me again, Ms. Calverley, but we are out of time for Ms. Yip's round. Hold that thought, I'm sure you'll have an opportunity to finish that one too. Thank you very much.
I'd like to go to Monsieur Bergeron for six minutes or less.
[Translation]
Mr. Stéphane Bergeron: Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I would first like to express my enormous thanks to our witnesses for being here this evening. I want to thank them for participating in the exercise, even at this late hour, and informing our discussions of Canada-China relations.
When the former ambassador of Canada to China, Dominic Barton, appeared before the committee on February 5, 2020, he said that relations between the two countries had fundamentally changed in December 2018 and the chill was real.
My question for the three witnesses is very simple: is it your feeling that since the end of the Meng Wanzhou case and the release of the two Michaels, the relationship between the two countries has improved, or are we still in that sort of crisis situation that does not seem to want to right itself?
[English]
Mr. Gordon Houlden: Perhaps I will speak first.
Mr. Stéphane Bergeron: Yes, do go ahead Mr. Houlden.
[Translation]
Mr. Gordon Houlden: Thank you.
My impression is that the situation has changed, but very little. There is still little contact with high-level visitors, scientists and businesspeople. There is no longer a crisis as there was before; rather, there is a situation in which progress is stagnant and there is a lack of trust on both sides. Above all, there is distrust of China on the part of the Canadian public and there are markedly negative attitudes between the two countries.
[English]
Dr. Lynette Ong: Thank you for the question.
Has it changed? Largely no. If you look at the latest Pew Research poll that polls societal views of China, I don't think it has actually recovered, and that is very much in line with the popular opinion poll results of many western societies. People have a lack of trust of China. I don't think things have gone back to normal.
Speaking in a personal capacity, I used to teach a course in China on a Chinese campus. We have no plans of returning to China anytime soon, because things.... You know, there has been a scar, and we know the root cause of the scar. I don't think the root cause has actually gone away, even though the two Michaels have been released.
Ms. Aileen Calverley: Releasing the two Michaels has not changed anything. Actually, many Canadians want to know what happened to the two Michaels, but since they've returned, it's been quiet. In our hearts, the scars are there. They were never repaired. For Canadian and Chinese relations to mend, or continue, Beijing needs to do a lot of work. For now, with the situation in Russia and Ukraine, we start to worry about Taiwan.
This is not a period of time when we feel safe to visit, for example, Hong Kong, to visit Taiwan or to visit China. I think there's still a lot of work to be done to mend the relationship.
[Translation]
Mr. Stéphane Bergeron: Thank you very much.
On March 21, 2022, the American State Department announced new visa restrictions on representatives of the government of the People's Republic of China. The statement by the State Department called on the PRC government, and I quote, to end its genocide and crimes against humanity in Xinjiang, repressive policies in Tibet, crackdown on fundamental freedoms in Hong Kong, and human rights violations and abuses, including violations of religious freedoms, elsewhere in the country.
My question is very simple: when our closest ally and trading partner is speaking openly of genocide in Xinjiang, how do you explain the Government of Canada's timidity about applying that term to the situation in Xinjiang?
[English]
The Chair: We have time for one answer, Mr. Bergeron. To whom do you wish to direct your question?
Mr. Stéphane Bergeron: I would ask Mr. Houlden the question.
[Translation]
Mr. Gordon Houlden: The word “genocide” is the strongest one of all. Even the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights spoke of “crimes against humanity” in the report he produced after his visit.
If we are talking about genocide in the sense of the repression of a minority, I agree. If we are talking about genocide in the sense of the physical elimination of a group, we have to distinguish the genocide in Xinjiang from the genocide of the Jews in Europe. That may be a technical point.
Even though the United States has limited visits by Chinese officials, the President of the United States is going to have a meeting with the President of China. We can strongly criticize the people who are directly associated with the repressive actions and human rights violations and deny them visas, but I think we have to maintain contacts and private conversations with high- or mid-level PRC officials.
[English]
The Chair: Thank you, Professor Houlden.
We now have Ms. McPherson for six minutes.
Ms. Heather McPherson: Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
Thank you to the witnesses for being here. Again, it is very late, and I'm very grateful that you've agreed to be with us. It's perhaps a little less late for Dr. Houlden at the University of Alberta, which is, of course, the university that I went to.
Mr. Houlden, I was going to start with you, if I could. You talked a little bit about the diplomatic failures. It was nine or 10 months that we didn't have an ambassador. But I think it's a larger discussion around Canada and Canada's diplomatic commitments, I guess, to diplomacy. In my opinion, we have privileged trade over development, over diplomacy for far too long.
Can you talk a little bit about what that stagnation looks like, what that lack of investment in our relationship has been and the impacts that have resulted because we have not had an ambassador?
Mr. Gordon Houlden: First of all, I'd say that Jim Nickel, our chargé d’affaires, whom I know very well and who is now going off to Taipei, has done a stellar job in the absence of an ambassador.
Having an ambassador is symbolically important, but it is substantively important as well. It allows better access to Beijing now—not great access but better access. An ambassador is not just there to eat canapés and go for cocktails. An ambassador is there to go in and deliver tough messages, and also, through his or her contacts—her contacts in the case of Jennifer May—to provide Ottawa with great advice.
One request I would have, though, is to keep the expectations on Madam May reasonable. We're sending a talented official. I know her well. She worked for me when I was in Beijing when she was a junior officer. Let's keep our expectations modest. Do not expect her to make a substantive difference in the conditions in Xinjiang. Do not expect her to solve our consular hangover in Hong Kong. If we keep our expectations modest but know that she will be there to provide a strong voice for Canada when we are unhappy....
It may be a private voice. I don't actually believe in loudspeaker diplomacy when it comes to an ambassador in place like Beijing, but, heavens, we have an ambassador in Moscow of all places where there's a war going on.
Let's get an ambassador there. I'm sure she'll be there very soon. Keep expectations modest, but a Canadian voice is necessary, as is a uniquely Canadian evaluation of the situation so that we're not just depending on our allies. I think that's important.
Ms. Heather McPherson: I think it shows a commitment to that relationship and not having an ambassador in place shows a lack of commitment to that relationship certainly.
Another area I'm quite concerned with is we have seen the increase in China playing the [Inaudible] development in Sub-Saharan, Africa. At the same time, we have seen a reduction in Canada's investment in involvement in Sub-Saharan Africa whether that's through peacekeeping, whether that's through international development, whether that's through diplomatic ties.
Could you speak on what the impacts or the risks are to Canada and to the global stability, I guess, when you see situations like the increase of China in Sub-Saharan, Africa at the same time that Canada is decreasing its efforts there.
Mr. Gordon Houlden: At a time in my long past, I worked on Africa for what is now Global Affairs and I've been to Africa. I follow very closely, looking at it from a China lens. Chinese are all over Africa. They're the number one trading partner for most African states.
Africans will tell you, however, that it's not as if the colonial powers covered themselves with glory in their work in Africa. Africans are often a bit uneasy with that experience.
Canada comes in with an advantage. We had no colonial experience in Africa. We're seen as a good partner, but it takes a lot of time and senior-level attention. It takes development funding and it takes active commercial relationships. We will not be able to play a role as high-profile as that of China, but we can play our part. If we don't do that, we just leave the field free for the Chinese and for other non-democratic actors who don't necessarily share our values.
Absolutely we need to be there with spurs on to make sure that we're at least noticed and that we can play a role, but not exaggerating the potential for us.
Ms. Heather McPherson: Thank you very much.
Dr. Ong, did you have anything you would like to add to that as well?
Dr. Lynette Ong: No.
Ms. Heather McPherson: Thank you.
Ms. Calverley, first of all, I want to reassure you that this committee has agreed to do a study looking at investment that will, hopefully, be undertaken soon. Hopefully, we will be able to bring you back at that point.
You did talk a bit during your testimony about threats to Canadians and foreign influence. I would be interested in hearing your perspective on the news that we have heard about the police stations that have opened up. What do you expect from the Canadian government as a response?
Ms. Aileen Calverley: It is very shocking news. Actually, there are quite a few that have opened up in Ontario and one in Markham where I lived.
The Chinese agents have been around, but I think openly. That it's actually the Chinese police, I think this really the first time we've heard that. I think they are openly doing that because there's no legislation. There's nothing to deter them, nothing to punish them.
I think that Canada should have some new legislation. As police from China, they should be agents or government officials. They cannot just open offices in Canada.
They claim that they just help Chinese citizens to renew their passports. They don't need that because they have their own embassy. They have used that to intimidate Chinese citizens in the past to scare them to go back to China to face trial, and then they threaten their families. Now I think, with the police station in Markham, they can intimidate people like us. I have been living in Canada for many decades. Now I feel frightened. I need to install a camera in my house.
I think the Canadian government needs to really look into this because they are Chinese police. They should be considered as agents. There should be legislation that says they need to inform the Canadian government that they are agents.
Ms. Heather McPherson: I'm very sorry that you feel so threatened in this country.
Ms. Aileen Calverley: Yes, I do.
Ms. Heather McPherson: That is horrific.
The Chair: Ms. McPherson, you are way over time.
Mr. Chong, go ahead for five minutes.
Hon. Michael Chong: Thank you, Mr. Chair.
This question is for all three of you.
In the latter part of 2019, the government announced that it would be coming forward with a new framework on China. We know that we still don't have one. It's now morphed into the Indo-Pacific strategy that Minister Joly has indicated will be released at the end of this year, some time before Christmas.
My simple question to all three of you is this: Have you been consulted by the government on the Indo-Pacific strategy?
Mr. Gordon Houlden: From Gordon Houlden, the answer would be no.
Hon. Michael Chong: Thank you for that. I appreciate that.
Dr. Ong…?
Dr. Lynette Ong: Yes, there has been wonderful virtual round table consultation with, I think, someone from Global Affairs.
The short answer is yes.
Hon. Michael Chong: Thank you.
Ms. Calverley…?
Ms. Aileen Calverley: It was not consultation, but we did talk about it.
Hon. Michael Chong: The reason I raised it is that I took note of Dr. Ong's opening statement. I thought it was quite good the way you framed the fact that China is structurally changing. You talked about the changes amongst the elites, the changes amongst the non-elites and then some of the economic challenges they're facing.
One of the things I picked up in your advice to this committee was that, in response to a rapidly changing China, the Canadian government needed to be effective in scenario playing. I'm wondering if you can elaborate on that.
My sense of the government is that it's not very good, not very nimble, at scenario playing. We've been trying to come up with this China policy, this Indo-Pacific strategy, now for some three years. We are the only G7 power that doesn't have a written foreign policy document that you can point to on the Indo-Pacific region, and it seems very painful even to come up with that basic blueprint.
From your knowledge, Dr. Ong, of how Global Affairs works, where are the deficiencies in the department that are preventing us from being more nimble in producing these documents and ensuring that they're regularly updated to respond to the various scenarios that might unfold?
Dr. Lynette Ong: Yes, that is a great question.
In my view, the constant in the very near future, the constant in dealing with China, is uncertainty. That is the only thing that we can be certain of.
I think both politics and economics are going through some very structural and fundamental changes. It could go bad very quickly, or it could just gradually decline. No one can be certain of that.
In a sense, we need to have really strong China endowment, and I know a little bit about Global Affairs. I don't know Global Affairs well enough to say whether or not they have the capacity to amass China resources, people who really know elite politics, people who really know society and people who really know the Chinese economy and formulations to be able to be nimble and to enable Canada to have the adaptive capacity should things turn around very quickly, which I think they will.
Hon. Michael Chong: Thank you for that answer. I appreciate it.
I want to switch to a slightly different topic, which has to do with foreign direct investment into Canada from China and foreign direct investment into China from Canada, the two-way FDI between our two countries.
The reason I want to bring this up quickly is that I know, Dr. Houlden, your institute at the University of Alberta has done research on this. I took note that tens of billions of dollars have come from China into Canada over the last few decades.
I think of what would happen if China ever invaded Taiwan. I think we would see a commensurate response by western allies in terms of sanctions as we've seen with respect to Russia. Because our exposure to two-way trade and investment to China is much greater than that of Russia, I'm wondering what the implications are for Canada if that were ever to happen.
The Chair: We should get a brief answer, Professor Houlden.
Mr. Gordon Houlden: The China Institute has the most comprehensive database of Chinese investment in this country.
You asked a question about if there were a conflict over Taiwan, a vulnerable southern ally. The investment, in my view, would be the smaller part. The biggest effect would be the disruption of supply chains. Look at what happened in Russia and how that has affected the energy sector. A sustained disruption of the economic relationship between China and the west would have far greater effect. As soon as those ships that were en route landed or were turned back, you would see empty stores. You would see absolutely essential inputs to Canadian businesses and to Canadian lives disrupted. We're highly vulnerable to the effects of that trade being disrupted—investment, yes, but especially the trade flows.
The Chair: Thank you for that.
Now we go to Mr. Fragistakos for five minutes.
Mr. Peter Fragistakos: Thank you, Chair.
Thank you to our witnesses.
Professor Ong, I was especially taken by your testimony, which at the outset was really about this point on regime durability. You talked about spoils. You talked about fear. You talked about—in response to Ms. Yip's question—the way the regime has dealt with the middle class, the reduction of the role of the private sector and these kinds of things.
The question is a straightforward one. I take the point on certainty that you raised before, but I think it would benefit the committee if you were to share with us your view on just how durable this regime is. From the outside it looks quite stable, but is it quite stable?
Dr. Lynette Ong: In my personal opinion it is still quite durable, but in relative terms I think durability has declined considerably because I think the foundation of its durability, particularly elite stability, has been eroded.
China has been a country of crony capitalism for many years—since reform and opening up in 1979—and I think in the last 10 years or so the very foundation, the glue, that holds the system together, which is mutual trading of interest and reciprocity, has been eroded by President Xi's anti-corruption campaign. He has really torn the fabric that holds the elite politicians together.
Mr. Peter Fragistakos: Because I have limited time, I'm going to jump to Professor Houlden and ask him the same question.
Sir, how durable is the regime in China in your view?
Mr. Gordon Houlden: Thank you so much.
I've had the opportunity to serve in Canadian embassies in three communist countries on three different continents. It's not an easy question to answer, but the watchword for me—and the reason I'm careful—is that I served in eastern Europe. My job was actually tracking opposition parties in Warsaw. I could see the cracks in the wall. I felt the Soviet Union would collapse. I thought it would take 50 years, but 18 months after I left, it was gone. These are very tough questions.
To me communist regimes have the strength of iron, not of steel. They can be very brittle. When you have disunity at the top, which to me is the most likely cause of change in China—that is, regime collapse—there will be a struggle at the top.
China has spent so much money and effort to manage and control dissidents at the street level, but my money would be on problems at the top. When those will emerge to such a point as to threaten the regime is a tough question. It could be soon or it could take a long time.
Mr. Peter Fragistakos: Thank you.
With my last question, I want to pick up on what Mr. Chong was talking about in economic terms. Which parts of Canada are most exposed to China, in economic terms, and which sectors are most exposed?
In other words, at some point in the future if we were to see western allies, Canada included, put in place sanctions in response to something that China had done—whether it's an invasion of Taiwan or something along those lines—which parts, geographically, of the country would be most impacted and which sectors would be most impacted?
Mr. Gordon Houlden: Who is the question for?
Mr. Peter Fragistakos: It is for you, sir.
Mr. Gordon Houlden: Thank you.
I would say just grosso modo—and I'm simplifying—the dependency declines as you move east. It's most severe in western Canada, British Columbia and the prairie provinces, where the percentage of trade with China is higher and most notable in certain sectors, particularly agriculture but also pulp and forestry.
There would be an exception for the Atlantic provinces. If that seafood trade were to disappear overnight, that would be a big issue, but as in my response to Mr. Chong, the overall dependency of Canada in supply chains on China is very high.
It's not just phones. It's auto parts and electronic goods. Chips may be coming from Taiwan, but the chips from Taiwan go largely into Chinese factories and then we get the laptops and phones. That's a very complex dance of inputs and outputs. We are at a high level of vulnerability, and western Canada in particular.
Thank you.
Mr. Peter Fragistakos: Thank you, sir.
The Chair: Thank you, Mr. Fragistakos.
We now go to Mr. Bergeron for two and a half minutes.
[Translation]
Mr. Stéphane Bergeron: If I may, Mr. Chair, I would just like to follow up on the question Mr. Chong asked.
This is for all three witnesses. If Minister Joly were sitting at the table this evening and she asked you what you would like to see in Canadian policy on the Indo-Pacific region, what would you recommend?
[English]
Mr. Gordon Houlden: I think in fairness I should allow Madam Ong to go first, please.
Dr. Lynette Ong: That is a great question.
If I had the privilege to be in the presence of Minister Joly, I would say that we should double down and probably triple down on our investment on China endowments. We need to understand China inside out.
In my very modest view, on the term “Indo-Pacific”, we talk about the Indo-Pacific because we don't really have a China strategy. The Indo-Pacific is about encircling China from the outside, but we are not getting to the root of the problem. The root of the problem is how we actually tackle China. To me, I haven't seen any detail regarding an Indo-Pacific strategy. I think it's dancing around the question, and the question is how we deal with this rising monster.
Ms. Aileen Calverley: I want to take on this question.
I think a lot of us forget that our pension funds, a lot of the major market funds and all world funds, except U.S., are actually inside that. For example, you mentioned market funds. Over 30% are actually Chinese stocks. If anything happens to Taiwan.... We can see the experience from Russia and Ukraine. Russian stock is down to zero. It's just wiped out.
What happens if China invades Taiwan and Chinese stock is actually under sanctions? Chinese stocks would be wiped out. What happens to our pensions? The amount is huge. It's not only pensions and not only stocks. We also talk about Chinese bonds. Actually, in our pensions, in our asset management, we have a lot of Chinese bonds. What happens if all of these bonds default?
That's why it's very important when we can see the Indo-Pacific strategy.... I think we need to look at our pensions and Canadian investments in Chinese companies and Chinese bonds. The number will be quite terrifying.
The Chair: That brings your time to a close, Mr. Bergeron.
Now it's Ms. McPherson, for two and a half minutes.
Ms. Heather McPherson: Thank you very much.
One of the things I'm going to ask a few questions about, if I could, Ms. Calverley, is that you talked about the need for a human rights defender strategy for people fleeing violence in Hong Kong. Can you talk a bit more about that, but perhaps talk a bit more as well about what other steps Global Affairs Canada and IRCC could take to support the people of Hong Kong?
Ms. Aileen Calverley: I think that first they need to repair the problem. People who actually got their open work permit to come to Canada somehow could not apply for primary residency. I hope that you can speak to Global Affairs and immigration to fix that.
I think the existing so-called lifeboat is actually a leaking lifeboat, because it has helped only a very small percentage of people. There is a very small percentage of people who can qualify. Human rights defenders—for example, Jimmy Lai—all the journalists and also medical professionals are not covered.
We can see, in the situation in Ukraine, that there's a human rights defender category. Why can't we create the same category for Hong Kong to make the lifeboat more like a lifeboat? Right now, it's leaking. Those people who arrived who actually were interviewed by the Toronto Star, they're scared that they will be sent back to Hong Kong because they got the work permit, but they cannot apply for permanent residency.
This is something that Global Affairs and immigration need to work on.
Ms. Heather McPherson: Thank you.
The other thing, too, is this: Do you believe that Global Affairs and IRCC should work together to facilitate the departure of non-Canadian citizen family members of Canadian citizens? What would that look like, in your opinion?
Ms. Aileen Calverley: I'm sorry, your question…?
Ms. Heather McPherson: Yes, even more broadly, what other steps...? I think you outlined this particular strategy, but I think there are many other things we would like to see Global Affairs Canada and IRCC do together to make sure that people can come from Hong Kong to Canada. I think one of the problems that we have is that we need to listen to experts like you, so I just want to give you this opportunity for just a few more seconds.
Ms. Aileen Calverley: Thank you.
I think they should help those people who, for example, joined the pro-democracy movement. A lot of them were put into prison. Now they're out, but they're not eligible because they have criminal records. However, the record is only for illegal assembly, for example, but they were put into prison for three months so they're not able to come over.
Also, they need to get police certificates. This is something that our country needs to change, because those who move to the U.K. via the BNO scheme don't need to have police certificates. Over 10,000 Hong Kong protesters were arrested. Anyone who was arrested in the past needs to produce a police certificate, but all of them could not produce that.
I think this is very unfair. We say that this is Canada supporting democracy, supporting freedom and supporting Hong Kong, but all those people who fight for democracy, in fact, are the people who cannot come to Canada. I think that category needs to change. They need to give ways—
The Chair: Thank you, Ms. Calverley. Again, we've run out of time for your segment.
We have time for, actually, two more rounds of questions.
Mr. Hallan, I have you down next. Oh, we're going to Mr. Chong. All right. Then that will be followed by Mr. Oliphant.
You two gentlemen will wrap us up today.
Hon. Michael Chong: Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I'd like to explore this issue of the impact on two-way trade in the event that Canada and other allies were ever to sanction China because of some geopolitical event that took place. We know that we roughly export about $25 billion to $30 billion a year to China, most of it primary products in agriculture and mining. We know that we import roughly $70 billion a year from China, mostly a wide range of products like electronics, toys, plastics, machinery, furniture, all the things that consumers in this country consume.
My question is this: Would the disruption be bigger on our imports to this country in terms of the economic impact because the exports are so commodity-based? In other words, because they are commodities, we can get rid of them one way or the other on Chicago or whatever other exchanges are available to sell commodity-based products. Is that a fair assumption to make about the impact on trade—that it would have more of an impact on the imports from China to Canada rather than on the exports of Canada to China?
Mr. Gordon Houlden: That's a very important question.
My assumption would be that the effect of restrictions on Chinese exports to Canada would be more disruptive, at least in the short term. Tariffs would be bearable, and obviously prices would increase, but if we're saying an absolute stoppage of flow, that would be very difficult. Definitely, I believe, the economic impact would take some time to get around.
Even with the difficulties in the U.S.-China relationship under the current president and the previous president, very few American companies actually moved their production out of China. Some did, but they haven't moved it back and reshored it in the United States. Some has gone to Mexico. Some has gone to Vietnam. But are there enough skilled workers available? Are the skills there or the infrastructure? Even in the case of India, it's a real challenge. You can't expect that to happen overnight.
On the export side, I note that on the canola side what happened, to my surprise, was—whoops—we sold our canola somewhere else, and other countries supplied canola to Canada. In some cases, actually, Canadian canola went somewhere else and then was transferred back to China after a perfunctory stop in another port. Both could be problematic.
The greatest would be, in my view, the stoppage of the normal flow of imports. Over time, that could be overcome, but that would take time and I think the economic impact would be quite severe. How severe, I don't know, but I would argue that the need is there for government to at least do a careful study on where the impact would be the greatest, how strategic it would be, which sectors we could cushion and what we could do to lessen that impact, given that it's an unlikely but not impossible series of events.
Hon. Michael Chong: If that's the case, Dr. Houlden, then wouldn't the biggest impact be on the grand consumer belt of the Quebec City-Windsor corridor, where some two-thirds of Canadian consumers live who use those imports? There's some $70 billion in imports that we bring in from China every year, rather than the exports of some $30 billion, predominantly from the prairie provinces. Wouldn't it seem to make sense that the bigger economic impact would perhaps be felt in central Canada as opposed to western Canada?
Mr. Gordon Houlden: In that sense you're correct, in the sense that exports of pulp and paper, let's say, go to India, let's say. India might divert some of their trade to Canada that they would have taken elsewhere, but you're right. If you have an automobile being assembled in Ontario, let's say, in Oshawa, and there are pieces of that—auto parts—that are coming from China, that can't be changed quickly. Over time, it can, but there would be at least a short-term to medium-term disruption.
The net effect overall I think would make the energy problems for Europe look small. It would basically take China out of the equation in both ways, imports and exports.
Hon. Michael Chong: I have a very quick question.
As you know, China banned imports of Canadian canola and pork—and I believe beef—several years ago on spurious grounds.
When China lifted those bans, should the Canadian government have indicated that they weren't prepared to grant whatever permits were necessary for those exports as a signal to China not to try to pull that stunt again?
The Chair: Please give a very brief answer, Professor Houlden.
Mr. Gordon Houlden: You can do that. My worry sometimes is that you get into a tit-for-tat on trade issues. The Chinese can out “tat” you in some sense. They have many levers, and their government can pull those levers so easily.
The Chair: For our final questioning, we'll go to Mr. Oliphant.
Hon. Robert Oliphant: Thank you, Mr. Chair.
To all three of you, thank you for sharing your time, your wisdom and your experience.
Professor Ong, I want to start with you.
I loved your opening statement, which I found very insightful, and also your comment about the only certainty being uncertainty.
In the very near future, looking at October 16 and the gathering that will happen in the Great Hall of the People, the National Congress of the Communist Party of China, what should we be looking for? You talked about the consolidation of power, which we have seen in the last two congresses, and it's getting to be complete. We can feel that the challenges to President Xi's power are limited and have been limited.
Other than the drama—and there's always some big pageantry and drama—and the consolidation of power, what should we be looking for? What insights might we gather from there? Are there any signs that you think we should be watching for or listening for?
Dr. Lynette Ong: I would be looking for the composition of people in the Politburo standing committee. Right now, it's a seven-member committee, which largely consists of people who are followers of President Xi, but there are also two people who are not. I think most people predicted that you were going to have two semi-independent people so that President Xi wouldn't have a clean sweep.
In a sense, that is only symbolic, because we know that power has also been centralized, in effective terms, but I think the coming months, the months after the party congress, are actually more important. After the pageantry, after the big show, what are the policies that are going to be formulated on Xinjiang, on trade and from politics to economy to society?
I think that once the president becomes more confident of his power, of his grip on elite politics, he will be more confident in putting out the rest of the policies that he actually wants to implement. The next three months after the party congress I think are a very critical period.