Chinese President Xi Jinping was caught on camera accusing Justin Trudeau of leaking details of the meeting, days after they spoke at the G20 meeting in Bali.
President Xi told the Canadian prime minister through an interpreter that this was inappropriate and accused him of lacking “honesty.”
He appeared to be referring to reports that Trudeau had raised allegations of Chinese espionage and unwanted interference in Canadian elections.
This is the first closed-door discussion they have had in recent years.
In the video, recorded by reporters at the now-concluded meeting of world leaders, President Xi and Trudeau are seen standing close together and speaking through an interpreter.
“Everything we discussed was leaked in the newspapers, and that is inappropriate,” China’s number one told Trudeau in Mandarin.
This is a rare capture of a moment that was not invented by President Xi. The reason is that Xi’s image is usually carefully selected by Chinese state media.
After smiling and nodding, the Canadian Prime Minister responded by saying, “In Canada, we believe in free, open and frank dialogue, and that is what we will continue to do.”
“We will continue to work together constructively, but there will be points on which we will not agree,” he added.
Before Trudeau could finish speaking, President Xi interrupted him and asked him to first “create conditions” – only to shake Trudeau’s hand and leave.
Wang “obtained trade secret documents for the benefit of the Chinese side, to the detriment of Canada’s economic interests,” Canadian police said in a statement.
At the same time, Trudeau and President Xi were attending the G20 summit in Bali, Indonesia, which ended and closed on Wednesday (11/16).
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