China urges Canada to end ‘Cold War mentality & stop unprovoked smear attacks’ after it claims Beijing is national security threat

The Chinese Foreign Ministry has slammed comments made by Canada’s intelligence director after he said Beijing was doing everything in its power to threaten Canada’s national security and sovereignty.

The remarks, made by David Vigneault, the director of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), “are groundless and China firmly opposes them,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin told reporters on Wednesday. 

Wang claimed China has never sought to interfere in the internal affairs of another country and, unlike Canada, does not make arbitrary arrests based on the will of other nations, a probable reference to Canada’s arrest of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou at Washington’s request. 

“We urge some Canadian politicians to abandon Cold War mentality and ideological prejudice, stop unprovoked smear attacks on China, stop spreading alarmist remarks, do more things that are conducive to China-Canada relations, and do more things that are conducive to enhancing mutual trust between China and Canada,” he said. 

On Tuesday, Vigneault told an online forum that Canadian national security was threatened by state actors, singling out China.

“The government of China ... is pursuing a strategy for geopolitical advantage on all fronts – economic, technological, political, and military – and using all elements of state power to carry out activities that are a direct threat to our national security and sovereignty,” he said. 

Chinese relations with Canada and its Western allies have deteriorated greatly in recent years. Beijing has repeatedly called on the US and its partners to desist from making ‘groundless’ accusations about China and stop interfering in its internal affairs in Hong Kong and Taiwan. 

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