Things got a bit clumsy between Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Chinese President Xi Jinping during a conversation on the sidelines of the G20 conference in Indonesia’s Bali.
Things got a bit awkward between Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Chinese President Xi Jinping during a chat on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Indonesia’s Bali when the latter accused Trudeau of “leaking” their talks to the papers.
In a brusque exchange caught on camera, Xi was heard telling Trudeau on Wednesday through a translator, at the closing session of the G20: “Everything we discussed has been leaked to the papers, that is not appropriate. And that was not the way the conversation was conducted.”
The Canadian Prime Minister was then heard responding cordially, “In Canada, we believe in free, and open, and frank dialogue and that is what we will continue to have. We will continue to look to work constructively together, but there will be things we will disagree on.”
After Trudeau’s response, the two shook hands and went separate ways, with Xi maintaining his demeanour of a smiling but disappointed headmaster, and saying, “That’s great, but let’s create the conditions first.”
The exchange was recorded by a camera crew at the venue.
