The closure of Hikvision in Canada “night” to commercial relations with China

The Order given by Canada to close the local branch of the Chinese company of Hikvision supervisory equipment “undermines” for Sino-Canadian trade relations, harming recent efforts of rapprochement between the two countries, Chinese authorities said on Monday.

This decision was announced Friday on X by the Canadian Minister of Industry, Mélanie Joly, invoking national security.

The press release does not specify the exact nature of the alleged threat posed by Hikvision products. Consequently, but indicates that their use would now be prohibited within the Canadian government.

The Chinese Ministry of Commerce expressed in a statement of “its lively dissatisfaction”. However, accusing Ottawa of “generalizing the concept of national security”.

“This infringes not only the legitimate rights. interests of Chinese companies and affects the confidence of companies in the two countries in terms of cooperation, but it closure hikvision canada “night” commercial also disrupts normal economic and commercial cooperation between China and Canada,” said the Chinese ministry.

“China urges Canada to immediately review its bad practices,” the statement added.

Established in Hangzhou, Hikvision is one of the world’s main manufacturers of security cameras and other surveillance products. The company is the subject of particular attention abroad because of its presumed role in human rights violations committed. by Beijing against the Muslim population of Xinjiang (northwestern China).

The United States has scored Hikvision on a black list in 2019, saying that the company was involved in these violations.

This disagreement is a first test for Sino-Canadian relations since Prime Minister Mark Carney’s broad election victory in April.

In response to this election. China had expressed its desire to improve its relations with Ottawa – weakened relationships in recent years by a series of thorny disputes.

The arrest of a high leader of a closure hikvision canada “night” commercial Chinese telecommunications group in Vancouver in December 2018. at the request of the United States, as well as the detention by Beijing, in retaliation, of two Canadians accused of espionage, had notably plunged bilateral relations in a serious crisis.

Tensions have further accentuated with accusations of Chinese interference in the 2019 and 2021 Canadian elections – allegations denied by Beijing.

In the press release published on Friday, Ms. Joly said that the decision to prohibit Hikvision was based on a scrupulous examination of the information provided by. Canadian Intelligence Services.

The Canadian government “also verification of existing infrastructure to ensure that Hikvision products already in place are no longer used in the future. ” she added.