These cheap Chinese cars are made with slave-like labour and other coercive measures, no tariffs can ever change that. When made by slave-labour, there is no such thing as a fair price.

Canada should do the same with Chinese vehicles - at least, as it’s possibly a better idea to not let them in.

As a European, I find this a ‘non-news’. The EU’s democracy commissioner just said that the EU won’t “lecture” other countries such as Canada, which is a just and fair statement imo as it is on Canada (and other countries) to find its way. I do hope that Ottawa will join the EU and push ahead on regulating tech platforms and artificial intelligence, but the decision is up on Canada, of course.

Well, in other news we read that Chinese state oil majors have suspended purchases of seaborne Russian oil after the United States imposed sanctions on Rosneft and Lukoil, Moscow’s two biggest oil companies.

Unfortunately, the Economist lost a lot of its quality and research strength in the last two decades or so which is why I stopped reading almost entirely. What is interesting, though, is that tankies slam the Economist frequently as a some sort of Western propaganda media, but have apparently no problem with it if at least the headline aligns with their desired narratives. The hypocrisy is almost hilarious :-)

Yeah, if the multi-polarity comes true, there will likely be several blocks (the EU, Mercosur, others) that will cooperate closely, while trusted partnerships will remain only among trusted countries (such as among democratic countries worldwide). Within these partnerships there could be free trade, between them, however, we’ll likely see some sort of tit-for-tat economy - do trade where it fits and where it has no impact on our core interests regarding economy and security.

Canada’s “strategic partnership” with China will be one of these tit-for-tat partnerships, but the country’s future lies in collaborations with the EU, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, and other democracies.

[Edit typo.]

A similar policy is applied when Chinese students are sent abroad. There is strong evidence across countries that Chinese students, before sending to their universities in their destination countries, are forced to a 'loyalty plea".

The central commitment is one of absolute allegiance to the Chinese state, as students, according to several reports like this one,

“shall consciously safeguard the honor of the motherland, (and) obey the guidance and management of embassies (consulates) abroad.” This includes reporting to the Chinese embassy or the nearest Chinese consulate within ten days of their arrival in Germany and maintaining “frequent contact.”

Human Rights Watch reports that [China’s long reach of repression undermines academic freedom at Australia’s universities](Understand the Fear We Have”):

Threats to and limitations on academic freedom at Australian universities stem from China-related pressures and documented cases of harassment, intimidation, and censorship of students and academics from China, and faculty members who criticize the government or express support for democracy movements. These corrosive dynamics set in motion considerable self-censorship.

Students said the fear of fellow students reporting on them to the Chinese consulate or embassy and the potential impact on loved ones in China led to stress, anxiety, and affected their daily activities. Fear that what they did in Australia could result in Chinese authorities punishing or interrogating their parents back home weighed heavily on the minds of every pro-democracy student interviewed. It was a constant concern that had to be evaluated before decisions were made of what to say, what they could attend, and even with whom they were friends. - [Emphasis mine.]

This year, Harvard’s scandal exposed Chinese students’ loyalty also in the U.S., highlighting that Chinese students act as CCP proxies, monitoring or suppressing dissent on U.S. campuses, as seen in incidents like the disruption of a Uyghur panel at Brandeis or harassment of dissidents.

Several countries (such as Sweden and Germany, as far as I remember) have already cancelled the cooperation with the the China Scholarship Council (CSC) over these and other practices.

You’ll find it easy to find more reports across the web.

I am not a historian, but I guess we can all say that colonialism and the negative impacts are historical facts. What I am wondering is how this compares to contemporary colonial policies practiced today by large countries that are invading its neighbours, occupy foreign land, try to bully neighbouring countries to re-draw borders, or suppress minorities? How much has humanity learned form history?

Yeah, there is a lot to be improved in the West to protect democracies. This is about China and the threat its government poses. China and Russia are the biggest threat to the rule of law and human rights.

Reminds somehow on European far-right (and far-left) parties -backed by Russia and China, btw- that are opposing Europe’s rearmament while demanding ‘peace’ with Russia, but without naming who the aggressor against Ukraine is. It’s the same playbook.

… any processing outside of China is going to be incredibly expensive and competitively unprofitable.

China itself is mining rare earths abroad such as in Myanmar and in Indonesia …

We urgently needed transparent supply chains …

I don’t question the content, but the media outlet apparently has a strong article selection bias.

This is an op-ed by a Canadian who undoubtedly knows what he is talking about.

Addition, as a reminder:

‘From hell to limbo’: Michael Kovrig describes more than a thousand days as China’s prisoner

You may have (intentionally?) misunderstood my comment.

They don’t necessarily need to own and operate their own factories imho, but we need transparent supply chains and laws to hold the brands accountable what happens in these supply chains. China is likely the country most opposing to such transparent supply chains, India is another one.

“It’s the most humbling thing I’ve ever seen,” said Ford’s chief executive about his recent trip to China.

Report from June 2025: ‘The Most Humbling Thing I’ve Ever Seen’: Ford CEO On China’s Car Industry’

You got no information about Chinese supply chains, even transparency of stock listed companies in China are almost zero. China is heavily working against transparency standards in supply chains.

China is highly unreliable. Just look at China’s Belt and Road Initiative ‘partners’ and how they do (or look at those who decided to leave the initiative).

There is ample evidence. I also sure you want the best for Canada but like everyone else has been heavily influenced by Chinese propaganda to dismiss China critics absurdly accusing them of being a racist.

Chinese would also employ Canadians or any other countries investing in Canada.

No. Chinese factories abroad employ Chinese migrant workers as it has been also said here on Lemmy multiple times. Also, Canadian suppliers won’t be deliver much as Chinese EV makes employ their own suppliers from integrated value chains.

Why buying Chinese goods funding Chinese genocide in Xinjiang, Tibet, Inner Mongolia?

No, China hasn’t joked about that, but they will do so if they can.

Canada can do this and all other things without close relationships with China or other dictatorships. Such governments aren’t reliable partners. There are no human rights in China, no willingness to make supply chains transparent, an the country shields off it domestic markets from foreign competition.