Canada's deep reliance on China - making a decision was difficult due to 'retaliation'

Recently the Yomiuri Shimbun On-line reported the following:

中国依存深まるカナダ、「報復」に難しい判断

2019年01月24日 08時07分

　【ニューヨーク＝橋本潤也】孟晩舟(モンワンジョウ)氏の身柄引き渡しについて、カナダ政府は米国との犯罪人引き渡し条約に基づくもので、政治的意図は介在しないとの立場だ。中国の圧力にさらされる中、安全保障上の懸念に基づくファーウェイ排除の動きにどう対応するかが試金石となる。

　カナダのフリーランド外相は２２日、米メディアのインタビューで「孟氏の拘束はもっぱら刑事司法の問題。政治問題化する考えには、強く反対する」と語った。カナダ政府は、昨年１２月に中国当局に拘束されたカナダ人男性２人の釈放を求めているほか、中国の裁判所でのカナダ人男性への死刑判決を「恣意しい的だ」（トルドー首相）と非難している。

　カナダは現在、次世代通信規格「５Ｇ」からファーウェイを排除するかどうかを検討中だ。排除を決めれば同盟国と歩調がそろう一方で、中国のさらなる報復を受ける可能性が高い。

　カナダの大学に所属する外国人学生の３３％は中国人が占め、家族を含む経済効果は年５０億ドル（約５５００億円）に上る。中国は米国に次ぐ貿易相手国でもある。中国依存が深まっているだけに、カナダは難しい判断を迫られている。

2019年01月24日 08時07分 Copyright © The Yomiuri Shimbun

Translation

 [New York: Hashimoto Junya] On the handing over of Mdm. Mèng Wǎnzhōu, the Canadian government did it based on the treaty of criminal deliveries with the United States while at the same time trying to uphold a position of not to intervene it with political intentions. Exposed to the pressure of China and having regard for its security concerns, how to respond to play down the development of Huawei was a touchstone.

Canada's Foreign Minister Freeland said on Wednesday in a media interview that “Mdm. Meng's detention is solely against the criminal justice, she strongly opposed to the idea of ​​making it into a political problem." The Canadian government on top of seeking the release of two Canadian men detained by the Chinese authorities in December last year, also criticized the death sentence passed on a Canadian in a Chinese court as "arbitrary" (Prime Minister Trudeau).

Canada was currently considering whether to exclude Huawei from its next generation "5 G" communication standard. If it decided to eliminate, this footstep would be  in consistent with its allies, and yet there was a high possibility that it would get further retaliation from China.

Chinese accounted for 33% of all foreign students in Canadian universities, and the economic influence including families amounted to 5 billion dollars a year (about 550 billion yen). China was also the second largest trading partner after the United States. As reliance on China was deepening, Canada was under pressure to make a difficult decision.

      I hope Canada could resolve this difficult situation soon.