Trudeau accuses China of interfering in Canadian elections

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Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau accused Beijing of playing "aggressive games" with "democracies" and of targeting Canadian institutions.

Canadian intelligence claims that it identified a "clandestine network" of candidates backed by Beijing at recent elections.  According to officials speaking to Trudeau, China supported 11 candidates in the 2019 federal elections. 

Chinese foreign ministry spokesman, Zhao Lijian, said that Beijing has "no interest" in Canada's internal affairs. 

"State-to-state relations can only be built on mutual respect, equality, and mutual benefit," he told a press briefing. "Canada should stop making remarks that hurt China-Canada relations," he added.

The anti-China reports came after Canadian authorities said they were investigating accusations that China had opened unofficial "police" stations on Canadian soil.

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Trudeau's anti-China alliance 

Last December, Trudeau said that Western countries must form a united front against China to prevent it from “cleverly playing us off each other in an open market,” in an interview with Global television. Trudeau then went on to claim that China has been able to use Western countries’ competitiveness against them. 

"We need to do a better job of working together and standing strong so China can't play the angles and divide us one against the other."

Trudeau’s statements were made in light of tense relations between the two countries, as Canada had arrested Meng Wanzhou, Huawei’s chief financial officer, while China detained two Canadians for three years on charges of espionage.

Canada had also joined other countries in their diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Olympics, despite China not having sent diplomatic invitations to the countries involved.