Ever since the “Two Michaels” episode, its been virtually impossible for Canadian journalists to report on China from inside China. The detention of Meng Wanzhou in 2018 by Canadian authorities, on behalf of the US Justice Department, and the subsequent imprisonment of Canadians Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor by Chinese authorities sent bilateral relations into the deep freeze. Things only started coming out of hibernation after Mark Carney became Prime Minister. CBC News used to have a bureau in Beijing, and while on paper that bureau never formally shut down, the refusal of China’s Foreign Ministry to grant our journalists visas effectively rendered it dormant. Earlier this year, we began discussions with China’s embassy in Ottawa for a short term reporting assignment to coincide with the so called “Two Sessions”, the main political event of the year in Beijing. Our CBC team was given permission for the trip and to stay for a month – and we really leaned into our opportunity. We filed from inside the Great Hall of the People; we visited sites all over Beijing, Shanghai, as well as the cities of Yiwu and Ningbo. Our stories focused on issues key to the emerging dynamic between China and Canada – namely, Chinese electric vehicles and access to Canadian agricultural products. Quite a remarkable visit, with remarkable access, we were pleased that so many CEOs, independent business people, analysts and ordinary Chinese citizens were game to speak to us.
