China threatened Canada with severe consequences after it arrested Huawei’s CFO Meng Wanzhou on the request of the USA. Business analyst Shaun Rein, author of The War for China’s Wallet: Profiting from the New World Order, spells out what those consequences could be for AFP.
AFP:
China’s state-run Global Times, a nationalist tabloid, cited experts as saying the consequences may include trade sanctions, a degradation in bilateral ties and fewer visits to Canada by Chinese tourists and businesspeople.
Canada exported goods worth US$18.2 billion to China last year, and it would be “very easy” for Beijing to shut down key energy and agricultural products with bans or boycotts, said Shaun Rein, the founder of Shanghai-based China Market Research Group.
The spat could also endanger exploratory talks on a free trade agreement between Ottawa and Beijing that have been ongoing for two years.
“I think the free trade agreement is definitely in a precarious situation, because Canada needs it with China more than China needs it with Canada, economically,” Rein said.
China could also hit back by detaining an executive from a large Canadian company, Rein added.
Shaun Rein is a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau. Do you need him at your meeting or conference? Do get in touch or fill in our speakers’ request form.
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