Chinese President Xi Jinping was filmed accusing Justin Trudeau of leaking details of the meeting, days after holding talks together at the G20 meeting in Bali.
President Xi told the Canadian Prime Minister through an interpreter that this was inappropriate, accusing him of not being “honest”.
He was apparently referring to reports that Trudeau discussed allegations of espionage and unwanted Chinese interference in elections in Canada.
Interviews in private, this is the first they have done in recent years.
In the video, recorded by reporters at the concluded meeting of world leaders, President Xi and Trudeau can be seen standing close to each other and conversing through an interpreter.
“Everything we discussed was leaked in the papers, and it’s inappropriate,” the Chinese number one told Trudeau in Mandarin.
It’s a rare take of a moment that President Xi isn’t making up. For this reason, Xi’s image is usually carefully curated 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 things we will not agree on,” he added.
Before Trudeau could finish speaking, President Xi interrupted him and asked him to “create the conditions” first – ending by shaking hands with Trudeau and walking away.
Wang “obtained trade secret documents for the benefit of the Chinese side, thereby harming 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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