Hong Kong
—
It is an image that just a year ago would have seemed unfathomable: the Canadian and Chinese leaders standing side by side, shaking hands and grinning.
Ties between the two countries cratered in 2018 when Canadian police arrested Chinese technology executive Meng Wanzhou in Vancouver on US fraud charges. Days later, Beijing locked up two Canadians, Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, on spying charges that Canada slammed as bogus. (Kovrig and Spavor were released nearly three years later after the US dropped the extradition request for Meng).
The diplomatic tussle soured the relationship and engendered a deep mistrust between Ottawa and Beijing. But as President…
