1. Introduction: Sustainability of Sino-Canadian Partnership

Trudeau, who established Ottawa’s first foreign policy towards Beijing, was based on the pursuit of independent international relations with world countries, despite their ideology. In that context, Trudeau’s government helped communist China integrate the international community, which contributed to solidifying bilateral relations between the two nations. Mulroney’s policy, in 1987, was based on the Canada–China Strategy, but it was not pursued as a result of the Tiananmen Square protests in 1989. Finally, during Chrétien’s government, Ottawa’s foreign policy vis-à-vis China was based on four main pillars: economic partnership, peace and security, sustainable development; as well as human rights promotion. When Chrétien left office in 2003, however, Canada’s strategy towards China was not properly redefined.