When news broke of the launch of MLI’s Washington project, the Center for North American Prosperity and Security (CNAPS), one of the first responses from official Washington was an invitation to brief Hill staffers of the House Select Committee on the CCP.
MLI’s main Senior Fellow on China, Charles Burton, travelled to DC and met with congressional and committee staffers, talking not only about his thoughts on China, but also on what America could learn from fellow liberal democracies like Canada as they struggle to manage a dangerous and complex relationship with the PRC. He also took time to answer questions related to a forthcoming visit to Ottawa by Committee representatives.
In his prepared remarks, Burton notes that: “the Canadian government believes it can adopt what it regards as a sophisticated approach by paying lip service to the concerns of our allies over the China threat on the one hand, and on the other, reassuring China that Canada will make no substantive policy changes that would negatively impact the status quo of Canada-China relations on Chinese terms.” Burton briefly summarizes Ottawa’s failure to respond to serious and substantiated claims of Chinese interference in Canada’s elections and institutions, including the government’s inaction on creating a Foreign Agents Registry (such as was implemented in the US).
Ultimately, Burton emphasized that a great deal of important work is required to bring Canada in line with “U.S.-led action to respond to the challenges that China clearly poses to the international rules-based order and the integrity of our democracies.”
Charles’ remarks can be read in full here.
The Center for North American Prosperity and Security is hosting its launch event, in partnership with the Hudson Institute, on November 14th at 2 PM ET.
More info on the launch event is available here: Still friends after all these years? The US-Canada relationship in a dangerous world.
For further information, media are invited to contact:
Daniel Dorman
Communications Manager
daniel.dorman@cnaps.org
