Essay --

The Canada-China relationship has been through many fluctuations since China’s establishment in 1949. The Canadian Cabinet decided to give its recognition in the same year as China’s establishment on 16 November. However, the diplomatic relations with China was not formed until 1970, two decades from Canada’s primary consideration. Though there were many factors influencing the Sino-Canadian relations since 1949, due to the limitation in length, this essay will focus on three main reasons, how the political consideration, the attention on human rights problems and Canada’s economic interests influenced its relations with China from 1949 to the 1990s. From 1949 to the 1960s, the relationship between China and Canada was strongly influenced by Canada’s political consideration. With Canada’s gradually pursuing of independent foreign policy together with the change in international climate eventually left the room for Canada’s recogniti on to China. Since then, the Canadian economic interest started to dominate any other factors in this bilateral relationship, even if Canada paid attention to China’s human rights problem. Thus, the Sino-Canadian relationship after the 1970s is a balance between Canada’s economic interests and human rights issues in China. This essay will examine the three factors thematically, and in each factor, it will follow a chronology order. In the first part of the essay, it will discuss Canada’s political consideration in recognition China when taking the U.S. influence and the change of international atmosphere into account. Canada’s willingness in achieving an independent foreign policy led to its formal relations establishment with China in the early 1970s. Then it will discuss how the Chinese human rig... ... China dominated the human rights problems, and enabled Canada-China to be an economic partnership of each other. From 1949 to the early 1960s, the American pressure that Canada received was the fundamental reason for the delay of recognition China. As Canada’s desire of pursuing an independent foreign policy grew stronger, the impact of the U.S. government on the normalizing relationship between Canada and China was less and less. After the establishment of relations in 1970, the bilateral relationship remained steady besides the human rights issue in China. When China dominated on the economic terms in the world, Canada preferred to cooperate with China. The economic trade between China and Canada brought positive influence to both economies, and the Sino-Canadian relationship should maintain at a peaceful and beneficial level if both states worked together.