China on Wednesday rejected allegations of interference in Canada's internal affairs, ahead of a planned meeting between Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit next week.
"China always upholds the principle of non-interference in other countries' internal affairs and has never been interested in interfering in Canada's internal affairs," Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun told reporters in Beijing.
His remarks came after Carney confirmed he would raise concerns about alleged Chinese interference during his meeting with Xi.
"Yes, I will be meeting with President Xi Jinping next week at APEC. We will discuss many things," Carney told a news conference in Montreal.
The Canadian premier said the discussions would cover global security and the two countries' economic partnership, which he described as "deepening but has clear guardrails in terms of the areas in which we're involved."
Carney identified manufacturing as the main area of trade growth, including vehicles, which he said accounted for "less than 3% of our market."
Asked about allegations of Chinese espionage and unauthorized Chinese police stations operating in Canada, Carney said he would address foreign interference directly with Xi.
"I will be raising the importance with which we attach to the non-interference in our affairs by China and other countries," he said.
Carney also sought to distinguish Canada's security relationship with China from that of the US, saying Ottawa faced "much, much, much, much less than the security risks" associated with Washington's relationship with Beijing.
The planned meeting comes as Ottawa and Beijing seek to strengthen economic ties despite longstanding tensions over national security, alleged foreign interference and trade.
China is Canada's second-largest single-country trading partner, with bilateral merchandise trade reaching C$125.7 billion (approximately $90 billion) in 2025, according to Canadian government figures.
Carney acknowledged that Canada's ambassadorial post in Beijing had remained vacant for seven months, longer than his government intended.
"It's a little longer than we would have liked. We wanted to get the right person, and we have found that right person," he said.
He said Ottawa was seeking Beijing's agreement to the proposed appointment under the customary diplomatic approval process.
"We would hope to make the announcement in very short order," Carney added.
