Tensions – The day before, Canada expelled a Chinese diplomat who it alleges tried to intimidate a Canadian MP who was critical of Beijing.

Relations between Beijing and Ottawa are strained. There China announced Tuesday it would expel Canada’s consul in Shanghai in retaliation after Ottawa made a similar decision to a Chinese diplomat accused of trying to intimidate a Canadian lawmaker. “China decides to appoint Jennifer Lynn Lalonde as Consul of the Consulate General of China Canada in Shanghai, persona non grata,” Beijing’s foreign ministry said in a statement, adding that it was “required to leave China by May 13.”

The day before, Canada announced the expulsion of a Chinese diplomat, plunging the two countries into a new acute diplomatic crisis for which Beijing blames Ottawa. “We will not tolerate any foreign interference in our internal affairs,” said Canadian Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly when announcing the expulsion of the diplomat, who was declared “persona non grata” in the country.

Already strained relationships

A decision immediately lashed out by China, Canada’s second trading partner, who accuses Ottawa of “sabotaging” already strained bilateral relations. “China will take decisive countermeasures and all the consequences of this (…) Read more in 20 minutes

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