By Xiaofei Xu and Tara John, CNN
Chinese leader Xi Jinping was captured by Canadian broadcasters in a rare candid moment on Wednesday, where he was filmed chiding his Canadian counterpart, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, over what he described as “leaked” discussions.
On the sidelines of the G20 summit in Indonesia, Xi chatted with Trudeau in Mandarin with a smile. But the English translation of what he said was a little less friendly.
“Everything we’ve discussed has been leaked to the papers and that is not appropriate,” Xi’s translator said.
Trudeau nods and Xi spoke again. “And that was not how the conversation was conducted,” the translator said.
“If there was sincerity on your part, than we shall conduct our discussion with an attitude of mutual respect, otherwise there might be unpredictable consequences,” Xi tells the Canadian leader in Mandarin.
Xi’s translator attempts to translate what was said, only getting to “If there was sincerity on your part,” before being cut off by Trudeau.
“In Canada we believe in a free and open and frank dialogue,” Trudeau said, adding “we will continue to work constructively together, but there will be things that we will disagree on.”
“Let’s create the conditions first,” the translator said on behalf of Xi in the video. The Chinese leader then shakes Trudeau’s hand and walked away with his entourage.
The exchange offers a rare glimpse of how Xi, whose public appearances are highly choreographed, interacts with other leaders.
Their exchange comes as Xi looks to reassert China’s global influence at the summit in the island of Bali after a nearly three-year absence from the world stage.
Due to escalating geopolitical tensions, disagreements over trade, the cause of the Covid-19 pandemic, as well as Beijing’s growing partnership with Moscow – despite Russia’s war on Ukraine – China’s relations with US allies have gotten worse to varying degrees in recent years.
At the summit, Xi has made an effort to mend fences. He met with US President Joe Biden on Monday. Additionally, he had formal discussions with the presidents of South Korea, Australia, France, the Netherlands, South Africa, Spain, Senegal, Argentina, and Australia.
This meeting was not offered to Canada, and the omission may be related to the rocky relationship between the two nations since senior Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou was imprisoned in Canada in 2018. Nine days later, in China, two Canadians were taken into custody. In 2021, all three were made available.
DON’T MISS
- Russian missiles pound major cities days after Kherson pull-out
- Iran may use mass executions to quell anti-hijab protests across country, human rights group warns
- Israeli defense minister calls US investigation into journalist’s killing a ‘grave mistake’
