Quebec City mayor cancels 10-day China trip amid diplomatic tensions
- Régis Labeaume pulls the plug on economic and tourism mission to Shanghai, Xian, as well as South Korea, reportedly on advice from Quebec government office in China
- Sources told Canadian broadcaster it had been difficult to secure meetings with Chinese counterparts
A Canadian mayor has cancelled a planned trip to China in March on the advice of authorities, according to local media, amid increasingly strained ties between the two countries.
Régis Labeaume, the long-time mayor of Quebec City, capital of the Canadian province of Quebec, nixed an economic and tourism mission to two Chinese cities and South Korea, French-language newspaper Le Soleil reported on Saturday.
According to the mayor’s political attaché Paul-Christian Nolin, the delegation would have included representatives from Quebec International, the city’s economic development agency, and the Quebec City tourism board.
French-language broadcaster Ici Radio-Canada reported on Saturday that the Quebec government office in Shanghai had cautioned the mayoral delegation against taking the 10-day trip. Sources also told the broadcaster that it had been difficult to secure meetings with Chinese counterparts.
Labeaume’s decision comes after Ottawa updated its travel alert on China last week, warning its citizens of the “risk of arbitrary enforcement of local laws”.
The two countries have been locked in a diplomatic feud since the December 1 arrest of Chinese tech executive Sabrina Meng Wanzhou in Vancouver, at the request of the US, for allegedly violating sanctions against Iran.