OTTAWA: West has to stand together against China whose leadership often "plays" western countries against each other, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in a recent interview.
In an interview with Canadian television network Global television, Trudeau said like-minded countries should "show a united front" against Beijing's increasingly "coercive diplomacy."
"We need to do a better job of working together and standing strong so China can't play the angles and divide us one against the other," Trudeau said.
"We've been competing and China has been from time to time very cleverly playing us off each other in an open market competitive way. We need to do a better job of working together and standing strong so that China can't, you know, play the angles and divide us one against the other."
The Canadian PM said the problem occurs as many Western countries attempt to gain access to China's market, letting it dictate the terms and pitting Western states against each other as competitors.
Since the past few years, Canada's ties with China have strained over a slew of issues. This discord started after Huawei Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou, a Chinese national, was arrested in Vancouver in 2018.
Soon after the incident, China detained two Canadians. This move saw as retaliation for Meng's arrest. Meng eventually reached a deal with US prosecutors in September this year, which later led to the release of the two Canadian nationals.
Earlier this month, the Canadian PM had announced a diplomatic boycott of the 2022 Beijing Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.
"Canada remains deeply disturbed by reports of human rights violations in China. As a result, we won't be sending diplomatic representatives to Beijing for the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. We'll continue to support our athletes who work hard to compete on the world stage," Trudeau had tweeted.