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In Canada, concerns over possible China snub at APEC summit
2006-11-12
The absence of scheduled talks between Canada and China on the sidelines of an APEC leaders summit in Vietnam next week has led to speculation that Beijing may snub Ottawa. China has not yet confirmed bilateral talks between Prime Minister Stephen Harper and President Hu Jintao, leading some to suggest acrimony between them exists, likely due to Harper's criticisms of Hu's Communist regime. The Chinese government has already announced that Hu will meet with US President George W. Bush and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe separately during the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation summit on November 18-19 in Hanoi. The fact that it has taken so long to set Canada-China talks is a concern, Fen Hampson, a Carleton University international affairs expert, told the Globe and Mail. "It doesn't take very long to say yes," he told the newspaper. Beijing has complained about a meeting between Jason Kenney, parliamentary secretary to the Canadian prime minister, and the Dalai Lama earlier this year, delays in the deportation of an alleged crime ring boss who fled to Vancouver, and Chinese espionage allegations made by Foreign Minister Peter MacKay. Sandra Buckler, the prime minister's spokeswoman, told reporters no sidelines meeting with China had been confirmed. "They (China) did approach us and asked us if we were interested in a meeting. We have said yes. But, a normal to-and-from have to take place on timing, etc. We just have to see how it shakes out," she said. "Our officials have been talking at various levels," she said. Buckler refused to speculate about what Harper and Hu might discuss. China is the second largest importer of goods to Canada. Foreign ministers from APEC's 21 member states, meanwhile, are expected to meet ahead of the summit to discuss North Korea's nuclear weapons program. Canada's Foreign Minister Peter MacKay will arrive in Hanoi on November 15 for those talks.
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