Stephen Harper has not visited China in the three-plus years that he has been Prime Minister of Canada.   Not merely an oversight, Harper’s absence from China has been deliberate and politically motivated.   Attempting to separate itself from previous Liberal governments that made economic relations with China a priority, the current Conservative government focuses more on China’s human rights record and less on diplomatic and economic relations.

Chinahas been angered by a number of symbolic actions the Prime Minister has taken over the past three years.   Meeting with the Dalai Lama in 2007 and skipping out on the 2008 Beijing Olympics are the most notable examples.   In turn, China’s Ambassador to Canada has expressed the usual coded diplomatic disappointment, frustrated with actions that are “not conducive to developing a sound set of relationships”.

While taking a stand against human rights abuse in China is noble, in practice, the policy has had virtually no effect on the Chinese government.   Rather than affecting real change, the policy has instead strained the overall relationship between the two countries and alienated the Harper government from those people who have the power to fight for human rights in China.   Furthermore, due in large part to frosty political relations, Canadian businesses have been unable to meaningfully capitalize on the economic potential of China.  

Finding the right balance with China is a dilemma for every country that depends on trade for economic sustainability.   Is there a way to maintain pressure on China’s human rights record, while at the same time increasing political and business links?   It’s a difficult question, but as China becomes more politically and economically powerful over the next decade, it’s an increasingly important one to answer.

It is time for the Canadian government to determine what it believes is the right balance to the China question: it is time for Harper to go to China.