''Claws of the Panda: Beijing's Campaign of Influence and Intimidation in Canada'' is a 2019 book by Jonathan Manthorpe about Canada's foreign relations with the

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

(PRC) and the influence of the

Chinese Communist Party The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), officially the Communist Party of China (CPC), is the founding and One-party state, sole ruling party of the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). Under the leadership of Mao Zedong, the CCP emerged victoriou ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. Manthorpe argues that Canada and the PRC have a clash of values and that Canada has been a victim of multiple abuses by Beijing including spying, abductions, human rights abuses,

intellectual property theft An intellectual is a person who engages in critical thinking, research, and reflection about the reality of society, and who proposes solutions for the normative problems of society. Coming from the world of culture, either as a creator or a ...

, monitoring and intimidating

Chinese Canadians , native_name = , native_name_lang = , image = Chinese Canadian population by province.svg , image_caption = Chinese Canadians as percent of population by province / territory , pop = 1,715,7704.63% of the ...

and Chinese dissidents, and other attempts to influence Canadian policy. His thesis is that the PRC has been able to implement such policies for a number of years due to naivete by Canadian policy makers. In the book, Manthorpe advocates for a change in Canadian foreign policy towards the PRC. It was published around the same time as a period of

strained relations "Strained Relations" is an episode of the BBC sitcom, ''Only Fools and Horses''. It was the second episode of series 4, and was first screened on 28 February 1985. Synopsis It is a sad day for Del Boy and Rodney Trotter, Rodney, as their Grandad ...

between the two countries following the arrest of Huawei's deputy chair and CFO

Meng Wanzhou Meng Wanzhou (; born 13 February 1972), also known as Cathy Meng and Sabrina Meng, also informally known in China as the "Princess of Huawei", is a Chinese business executive. She is the deputy chair of the board and chief financial officer ( ...

in Canada in December 2018 and two subsequent arrests of Canadian citizens (Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor) in the PRC. Canada accused the PRC of arresting Kovrig and Spavor in retaliation for the Meng arrest. Manthorpe has clarified that the book is "not a book about Canadians of Chinese heritage" and was concerned about the book being used to provoke sentiment against Chinese Canadians. He also mentioned that it was "wrong, and ultimately dangerous, to view the CCP's infiltration of Canada as racial".

References

{{Reflist

External links

CBC radio interview
with Manthorpe about the book Canadian non-fiction books Books about international relations Canada–China relations 2019 non-fiction books Cormorant Books books

See also

References

External links