Canadian researchers are calling for a more coordinated response by G7 countries to counter “systemic” Chinese foreign interference, particularly as technology and tactics evolve and Beijing’s agents embed themselves further into societies.
Wednesday’s report by the Montreal Institute for Global Security comes a day before Canada is about to welcome China’s foreign minister to Ottawa for the primary time in a decade.
Speaking alongside the report’s authors on Parliament Hill, former member of Parliament John McKay urged Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand to lift the problem of foreign interference along with her counterpart Wang Yi during his visit.
“As that is a possibility for a reset of our relationships between Canada and China, I hope that each ministers will take the chance to operationalize that reset in order that this level of interference ceases,” he said.
McKay also called on journalists to press Anand and Wang on any commitments by the Chinese government to stop foreign interference in Canada.
When he last visited Canada in late May of 2016, Wang unleashed a tirade on a Canadian reporter who asked about human rights in China at a joint press conference with then-foreign affairs minister Stephane Dion.
Global News has asked Anand’s office and Global Affairs Canada whether foreign interference will probably be discussed.
The ministers are expected to debate the recently updated Canada-China Strategic Partnership, in addition to trade, investment and global security, in accordance with an announcement released by Anand’s office last week.
Carney, who travelled to Beijing in January to cement the brand new agreement, told reporters Wednesday he looks forward to Wang’s visit and can meet with him personally.
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He said the visit will offer a “beneficial exchange of views.”
Kyle Matthews, executive director of the Montreal Institute for Global Affairs, said he and other experts support Canada pursuing trade with China and other countries like India which were accused of foreign interference, but “we can’t be naive.”
“We’re coping with states which have murdered Canadian residents, which have harassed Canadian residents, states which have stolen a few of our top mental property,” Matthews said.
“We do have economic interests to expand. Nonetheless, we can’t be blind.”
Dan Stanton, a former official with the Canadian Security Intelligence Service who’s now the director of the national security program on the University of Ottawa, said the federal government must be transparent with Canadians — especially diaspora communities — that it still recognizes the chance of foreign interference.
“Canadians need to know that the federal government has not forgotten, one hopes, and the federal government remains to be going to carry countries to account for what they’re doing,” he said.
Report focuses on covert influence campaigns
The report draws on open-source research and interviews to present case studies of Chinese interference in each G7 country: Canada, the U.S., the U.K., Italy, Germany, France and Japan.
Particular attention is paid to China’s United Front Work Department, which the report says coordinates a broad ecosystem of political, business, academic, media and civil society groups in democratic countries.
While those groups operate legally and infrequently pursue legitimate relationships, the report’s authors say they’re pursuing long-term narrative influence that further China’s interests abroad.
“It’s somewhat bit like the traditional Chinese game ‘wei chi,’” said Marie Lamensch, the director of worldwide affairs on the Montreal Institute for Global Security. “It takes space over a protracted time, it’s adaptive, and the federal government mainly takes its time.”
The report included examples in European nations of politicians being targeted with covert influence campaigns from the national to the local levels.
In a single case study in Italy, the report describes the sister-city agreement between the small Italian municipality of Asti and Nanyang, a Chinese city of over a million people, which got here after increased business and trade exchanges between officials and trips to China by Asti authorities.
The report describes the connection as “surprising” given Asti’s wine- and tourism-based economy, while Nanyang is concentrated on advanced industries like artificial intelligence. The agreement has since led to plans for a number one Chinese surveillance firm to explore future projects in Asti, in accordance with the report.
Lamensch said G7 universities are also vulnerable to partnerships with Chinese academics and schools that, while legal and legit, are being pursued for ulterior motives. Britain is especially vulnerable, she noted, because it has come to rely more on foreign students since Brexit.
The report also covers instances of transnational repression, including intimidation of Chinese diasporas through so-called “police stations” arrange in Canadian cities and other methods.
The authors say intelligence sharing, foreign influence registries, and coordinated national strategies on managing foreign partnerships across society are needed to counter China’s influence activities.
Matthews said the report acknowledges that “it’s a tumultuous time for the G7” given the “rupture” created by the U.S. under President Donald Trump, in addition to the broader geopolitical climate.
Nonetheless, he added, “We still should stay the course with a few of our key economic and democratic allies to work to guard our democracies from Chinese foreign interference and influence.
“It’s a serious problem.”
—with files from the Canadian Press
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