Following a tense exchange between Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Chinese President Xi Jinping, a Chinese spokesperson accused Canada of acting in a "condescending manner."."China has no problem at all with having a candid dialogue with other countries. But we hope such a candid dialogue will be based on equal treatment and mutual respect, rather than criticizing the other in a condescending manner," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said at a daily briefing..Her comments came after Xi accused Trudeau of leaking the details of their private conversation to the media. During that meeting at the G20 summit in Bali, Indonesia, Trudeau reportedly expressed concern about China's interference in Canada's 2019 election.."Everything we discussed has been leaked to the paper. That's not appropriate," Xi told Trudeau through an interpreter. "That's not the way the conversation was conducted.".Trudeau interrupted Xi by saying Canada believes in a free and open dialogue. "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, and we will have to..." ."Let's create the conditions first," Xi interrupted, before the two parted ways.READ MORE: WATCH: Xi lambastes Trudeau for 'leaking' meeting details to mediaMao said there had been a "clear lack of respect," from the Canadian side. She said Canada should "take concrete actions to create conditions for the improvement of China-Canada relations.".Mao denied China had ever interfered in the internal affairs of other nations and blamed Canada for the downturn in ties between the two countries. Mao also said nothing Xi said during the conversation should have been interpreted in a threatening manner.."As you can see from the video, I think it is quite normal for the two heads of state to have a brief conversation during the G-20 summit. The two sides were just stating their respective positions," she said..She added the conversation was "quite normal and should not be interpreted as President Xi criticizing or blaming anyone.".Despite China being one of Canada's largest trading partners, relations between the two countries have cooled in recent years. In 2018, after Canada arrested the CEO of Huawei Technologies on a United States extradition request, China retaliated by jailing two Canadians. The two men were returned to Canada in 2021, but the incident harmed Canada-Chinese relations..Canada, like other western countries, also banned its wireless carriers from installing Huawei equipment, citing security concerns. Huawei is closely tied to the Chinese Communist Party, which has a reputation of engaging in economic espionage against the US and its allies..Last week, Canadian police charged a Hydro-Quebec employee with espionage after allegedly stealing trade secrets and sending them to China..READ MORE: Hydro-Quebec employee charged with spying for China
