China offers Lunar New Year olive branch to Canada, saying it wants to get relations back on track amid fallout from arrest of Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou
- Festive messages strike conciliatory tone after two months of tensions following arrest of Huawei executive Meng
- Calgary consul-general complains some countries are unwilling to give China a chance even though it does not seek to impose itself
Chinese diplomats have issued a Lunar New Year message of goodwill to Canada, saying they want to get relations back on track amid the ongoing controversy surrounding the detention of a senior Huawei executive.
One diplomat said China wanted to build a relationship based on mutual respect, but some nations did not give Beijing a chance, China News Service reported on Tuesday.
“We hope to strengthen communication with the Canadian side in the new year, remove obstacles, and work hard to push China-Canada bilateral relations back to the correct development track,” Heng Xiaojun, the deputy chief of mission, told the Chinese embassy’s Spring Festival Reception in Ottawa.
Meanwhile, China’s consul-general in Vancouver Tong Xiaoling told a separate reception that she hopes to make a fresh contribution towards the relationship between the two sides.
Lu Xu, the consul-general in Calgary, told another event that China did not seek to impose itself on other nations and wanted to develop relationships based on mutual respect and peace.
“However, unfortunately, some nations seem to be unwilling to give China a chance,” she said.