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As for co-operation between Chinese and Canadian high-tech enterprises, it is a mutually beneficial and two-way business relationship. It is not necessary to categorize this as an issue of national security. China is the victim of foreign cyber-espionage activities, rather than the perpetrator. To be frank, in many high-tech areas, China is not lagging behind Canada, but is actually more advanced.

As for whether human rights should be involved in our free-trade negotiations, I have repeatedly noted that China does not want too much non-trade or non-commercial factors involved in these trade talks. This does not mean that we are afraid of these topics, as China has managed to lift 700-million people from poverty over the last two or three decades, which is the greatest human rights achievement in history. Why should we be afraid of discussing human rights? We are not afraid of discussing it even in terms of Canada’s definitions of human rights. We are never against democracy and human rights.

What we oppose is to view one country’s approach as the only viable one, let alone trying to impose that approach on others.

All roads lead to Rome, but the roads to democracy and human rights differ from country to country. As an ancient Chinese saying goes, “It is natural that all things are different from one another.” If countries are forced to blindly follow a designated pattern and required to copy existing models, it will not work. We shall not forget the catastrophic consequences that came from trying to impose western democracy on other countries worldwide. Shouldn’t we reflect on this? Therefore, the reason we don’t agree with including democracy or human right issues in our trade negotiations is to avoid disputes. It is something we can discuss on other occasions.

China sticks to the path of win-win co-operation. Although China’s historical and cultural background and social systems are different from Canada’s, we have more common interests in promoting development and co-operation. Differences should not be an obstacle to communication and co-operation between the two sides. I sincerely hope that China and Canada work together to enhance mutual understanding and trust, to create a more favourable atmosphere for the further development of our bilateral relations.

Lu Shaye is China’s ambassador to Canada.