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Li said different national conditions justify different responses. “It is only natural that we don’t see eye to eye on some issues,” said the Chinese premier.

The problem is, Trudeau was led to believe those objections had been settled.

Photo by Fred Dufour/AFP/Getty Images

Guy Saint-Jacques, Canada’s former ambassador in Beijing, said that when Trudeau visited China last year he said he would not agree to free trade negotiations unless they included chapters on the environment, labour rights, state-owned enterprises and public procurement.

To the ambassador’s surprise, the Chinese said they were persuaded by the Prime Minister’s arguments — agreement that led to Trudeau’s great expectations on this visit. But clearly, no one had informed Li.

It was apparent from the moment of the Canadian party’s arrival at the Great Hall that the hosts were going to be assertive on their home turf.

Photo by Ng Han Guan / AP

The Canadian media’s pool cameraman was manhandled and had his shot of Trudeau and Li blocked by Chinese security.

Adam Scotti of the Prime Minister’s Office was blocked from entering the photo opportunity between the leaders — a problem, because he’s Trudeau’s official photographer.

Word emerged that the question-and-answer session scheduled for the end of the day was in doubt because of cold feet on the part of the hosts. “That’s coordinated cold feet,” said one international journalist who covers the Chinese government on a regular basis.

If it was tense outside the room, it sounds like the jet-lagged Canadian delegation at the table was sweating spinal fluid. Would it be too cynical to suggest the Chinese ambushed their visitors, knowing that leaving without an announcement would prove embarrassing to them? Probably not.