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| Image: Wiki Commons |
By Hugh Stephens
Like father, like son?
When Pierre-Elliott Trudeau was elected prime minister of Canada in June of 1968, one his prime foreign policy objectives was to establish diplomatic relations between Canada and the Peoples’ Republic of China, and in the process contribute to the closer integration of China into the international world order. This initiative led to more than 30 years of flourishing Canada-China relations based on this early “friendship” and goodwill, an era that ended with the coming to power of the Conservatives of Stephen Harper in early 2006. Will Pierre Trudeau’s son, 43-year-old Justin Trudeau, newly elected as Prime Minister on October 19, 2015, follow the family tradition and bring about a revitalization of Canada-China relations?
Pierre Trudeau first travelled to China in 1949 when it was in the grip of revolution. He returned again in 1960, after which he and friend Jacques Hebert wrote their book, Two Innocents in Red China. When Trudeau succeeded Lester Pearson as prime minister in 1968, part of his platform was to recognize the Peoples’ Republic of China (PRC) and help bring the PRC into world forums such as the United Nations, which it joined in 1971. These were heady early days for Canada-China relations, as Canadians discovered that they had an unknown hero in China, the Canadian Communist Norman Bethune immortalized in Chairman Mao Zedong writings, and as the two countries began exchanges of delegations in every area, from culture to ocean science to geology.
The establishment of diplomatic relations between Canada and China on October 13, 1970, marked an important breakthrough since, among Western countries, only Britain (which technically had never broken off relations with Beijing), Switzerland, the Nordics, and France (which had recognized the PRC in 1964) maintained an embassy in Beijing. In the aftermath of Canadian recognition the floodgates opened and many other countries, from Australia to Japan to Germany and beyond, moved to recognize the PRC using the “Canadian formula” with respect to the mainland’s claims to Taiwan. That issue had been the sticking point in over 14 rounds of negotiations between Canadian and Chinese officials in Stockholm. China insisted that the communiqué recognize its claim to Taiwan. Canada was unwilling to do so. The acceptable compromise formula finally adopted was for China to state its claim, and for Canada to acknowledge (Canada “takes note of”) the Chinese position without endorsing or denying it.
Read the full story at The Diplomat