Chinese foreign ministry reacted to the video which was claimed to be showing tough talks between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau during the G20 summit.
In a video, that was circulated on social media on Wednesday, Xi spoke with Trudeau at the closing session of the summit. Media reports claimed that the Chinese president confronted Trudeau for leaking the details of a conversation that happened between them on Tuesday.
But China's foreign ministry said that Xi was not criticising the Canadian PM. In a regular media briefing, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said that Beijing supports having frank exchanges as long as they are held on an equal basis. Mao also added that China hopes Canada will take action to improve bilateral ties.
As quoted by news agencies, Mao said: "The video you mentioned was indeed a short conversation both leaders held during the G20 summit. This is very normal. I don't think it should be interpreted as Chairman Xi criticising or accusing anyone."
During the conversation, a translator was seen helping the leaders to communicate as Xi said, "Everything we discuss has been leaked to the paper, that’s not appropriate."
In response, Trudeau said: "We believe in free and open and frank dialogue and that is what we will continue to have. We will continue to look to work constructively together but there will be things we will disagree on."
Speaking in Mandarin, Xi further said that "if there is sincerity, we can communicate well with mutual respect, otherwise the outcome will not be easy to tell."
Watch the video here:
The Cdn Pool cam captured a tough talk between Chinese President Xi & PM Trudeau at the G20 today. In it, Xi express his displeasure that everything discussed yesterday “has been leaked to the paper(s), that’s not appropriate… & that’s not the way the conversation was conducted” pic.twitter.com/Hres3vwf4Q
On Tuesday, Trudeau raised "serious concerns" over suspected domestic interference by China when he spoke to Xi. It was his first talk with the Chinese president in more than three years.
Although, Mao did not say whether or not Trudeau bringing up concerns over alleged Chinese interference was the reason behind the recorded exchange between the two leaders. But she noted that "I want to stress that China never interferes in the affairs of other countries."
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