WATCH: Xi Jinping’s mask slips at G-20 as he is filmed reprimanding Justin Trudeau for leaking to the press
Ryan King
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A visibly irate Chinese President Xi Jinping reprimanded Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for leaking to the press on the sidelines of the Group of 20 leaders summit Wednesday.
Standing in front of cameras, Xi scolded his younger counterpart for media reports on their Tuesday conversation about Chinese meddling in a Canadian election, berating him for being disrespectful in a stunning moment caught on camera.
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“Everything we said has been leaked to the papers. That’s not appropriate,” Xi said, according to a translation from the Globe and Mail. “That’s not the way the conversation was conducted.”
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Media reporting indicated that Trudeau had confronted Xi about concerns from intelligence officials that China interfered in Canada’s 2019 election and about the raging war in Ukraine. No account of the meeting was published by the Chinese side, but Trudeau’s office provided a readout, the report said.
Seemingly caught off guard, with Xi near his face during the brief aside, Trudeau nodded along as he waited for a translation and then pushed back. The exchange was caught on camera by a Canadian pool reporter.
“In Canada, we believe in a free and open and frank dialogue,” Trudeau shot back. “We will continue to look to work constructively together, but there will be things we will disagree on.”
“Let’s create the conditions first,” Xi quipped before shaking Trudeau’s hand and storming off.
Their confrontation Tuesday at the G-20 meeting marked the first time in about three years the pair have met in person, Bloomberg reported. Relations between China and Canada have been deeply strained over recent years.
A key flashpoint in Chinese-Canadian diplomatic ties was the detainment of Huawei Technologies executive Meng Wanzhou in 2018 on behalf of the United States. Trudeau has been outspoken about human rights concerns in China.
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Xi was recently reelected to the presidency for a third five-year term following a series of Chinese Communist Party meetings, one of which saw his predecessor Hu Jintao mysteriously escorted out of the room.
The Chinese side has divulged details of diplomatic dust-ups in the past. For example, Chinese state media reported that Xi warned President Joe Biden that Taiwan is a “red line.”