Xi Jinping criticizes Trudeau for leakage of their private talks. In a rare instance of public displeasure, Chinese President Xi Jinping criticized Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in person on Wednesday over purported leaks of their private discussion at the G20 summit.
Video of the summit on the Indonesian island of Bali shows Xi and Trudeau standing close to one another and speaking through a translator, according to Canadian media outlets.
“If there is honesty, we can communicate effectively with respect for one another; if not, the result won’t be clear-cut.”
His unhappiness was most likely in reaction to media reports that during his meeting with Xi on Tuesday, which was his first with the Chinese leader in more than three years, Trudeau raised “serious concerns” about alleged spying and Chinese “intervention” in Canadian elections.
The footage shows Xi’s interpreter remarking to Trudeau, “Everything we talked about was leaked to the paper(s), that’s not appropriate.” For Xi, whose public persona is assiduously cultivated by Chinese state media, the film captured a unique honest moment.
“In Canada, we believe in free, open, and frank dialogue and that is what we will continue to have,” says Trudeau in response to Xi’s initial criticism. “We will continue to look to work constructively together, but there will be things we disagree on.”
Xi Jinping criticizes Trudeau for leakage of their private talks, watch the video:
Justin Trudeau is a Canadian politician serving as the 23rd and current prime minister of Canada since 2015 and leader of the Liberal Party since 2013.
Trudeau is the second-youngest prime minister in Canadian history after Joe Clark; he is also the first to be the child of a previous holder of the post, as the eldest son of Pierre Trudeau.
