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Jennifer May becomes Canada’s first female China ambassador

Jennifer May becomes Canada’s first female China ambassador

Jennifer May becomes Canada’s first female China ambassador

Jennifer May becomes Canada’s first female China ambassador

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  • Canada appoints Jennifer May as its first female ambassador to China.
  • She has been a diplomat for 30 years and most recently served as ambassador to Brazil.
  • Tensions between Canada and China have been high for a long time.
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Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said that Canada named Jennifer May as its first female ambassador to China on Friday. She will fill a position that has been open since December of last year, when diplomatic tensions with the Asian economic powerhouse were high.

Trudeau said in a statement that May has been a diplomat for 30 years. She was Canada’s ambassador to Brazil most recently. Earlier in her career, she worked in Canada’s missions in Beijing and Hong Kong.

“Ms. May will lead Canada’s important work in standing up for democratic values, human rights, and the rule of law,” Trudeau said. “Her work will be key to advancing Canadian priorities in the Canada-China relationship.”

In 2019, Canada chose Kirsten Hillman, a career diplomat, to be its first female ambassador to the United States.

Foreign Minister Melanie Joly told a group of diplomats in New York on Thursday that she would “soon” put forward a new Indo-Pacific strategy. The goal of this strategy is to work with China on trade and climate change while competing with it in other areas, such as critical minerals, and taking it on when it comes to human rights.

Beijing was upset when Canadian lawmakers planned to visit Taiwan and a Canadian frigate went through the Taiwan Strait. However, tensions between Canada and China have been high for a long time.

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Ottawa banned the use of 5G equipment made by the Chinese company Huawei Technologies Co. in May because of security concerns. In 2019, Trudeau put off making a decision about Huawei because he didn’t want to move until he knew what would happen to Canadians held in China on espionage charges.

In 2018, China arrested two Canadians on spying charges after Canada arrested Meng Wanzhou, a top executive at Huawei. After U.S. prosecutors made a deal with Meng in September 2021, all three people were freed and the standoff was over.

Canada also has a very large group of Chinese people who moved there. More than 1.8 million Canadians are from China, and after English and French, Chinese is the third most spoken language in the country.

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