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Ian Young

Canadian ambassador to China Dominic Barton is resigning, just months after working to secure Beijing’s release of Canadians Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, a task he described as “the honour of a lifetime”.
Barton said in an exit statement on Monday that his resignation was effective December 31.
The former global managing partner of consulting giant McKinsey and Co was appointed ambassador in 2019, during a deep ebb in Canada’s relationship with China.
Huawei Technologies’ chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou had been arrested in Vancouver in December 2018, triggering fury from Beijing. Kovrig and Spavor were swiftly arrested in China and accused of espionage, but their detention was widely seen as retaliation for Meng’s arrest on a US fraud warrant.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Monday paid tribute to Barton’s efforts on behalf of the pair, who became known as the two Michaels. Their freedom was thanks to Barton’s “leadership and skilled diplomatic approach”, Trudeau said in a statement.
“For the last two years, Dominic has led our team in China with determination, integrity and compassion, and at a time when relations between our two countries faced difficult challenges,” Trudeau said.
“As a defender of human rights and the rule of law, his top priority always remained securing the release of Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, who had been arbitrarily detained in China for two and a half years.”
The two were freed on September 24, their flight from China lifting off at almost the exact moment a plane carrying Meng to Shenzhen took off from Vancouver, after she and the US reached a deferred prosecution agreement.
Barton was also aboard the two Michaels’ flight. Spavor had been convicted of espionage by a Chinese court, but no verdict in Kovrig’s case has been announced.

Trudeau said Barton had “offered support and counsel to the two Michaels’ families and he worked to forge a coalition of like-minded countries to stand in solidarity”.
Barton had “played an integral role in shaping and pursuing Canada’s priorities with respect to China”, said Trudeau, who ended his statement with thanks to “Dominic, my friend”.
Barton, the Uganda-born son of a Christian missionary, said that working to secure the pair’s release “has been one of the most significant events in my life and I have been incredibly moved by the bravery and resilience of these two men, as well as their families”.
The relationship between Canada and China “is of critical importance to our future”, wrote Barton.

We've had 2 ambassadors who appeared to reflect the PM's unchanging, highly positive take on China. PMJT needs to understand, finally, that we don't need a promoter, but someone can help deliver a smart and realistic China policy that addresses the growing risk we face
— David Mulroney (@David_Mulroney) December 6, 2021

He added that his “successor will be on strong footing to further this relationship, build on our people-to-people relations, trade and investment ties, while continuing to stand firm on human rights and the rule of law”.
One of Barton’s predecessors in Beijing, David Mulroney, said on Twitter that Barton’s exit was a chance to reset the Canada-China relationship.
Barton, he wrote, “appeared to reflect the PM’s unchanging, highly positive take on China”.
“PMJT [Trudeau] needs to understand, finally, that we don’t need a promoter, but someone can help deliver a smart and realistic China policy that addresses the growing risk we face,” wrote Mulroney, who has become a prominent China hawk.
Barton’s departure coincides with a period of scrutiny for McKinsey, where he served as global managing partner from 2009 to 2018.
The US House Oversight Committee said last month that it was seeking documents from McKinsey about its work on behalf of the pharmaceutical industry to promote opioid painkillers.
The committee is investigating Purdue Pharma, maker of pain medication OxyContin. It said McKinsey played a role in the US opioid epidemic by pushing strategies to “turbocharge Purdue’s sales engine”.
Barton has previously said he was unaware of McKinsey’s role promoting the medication, telling The Globe and Mail newspaper that he found the US revelations “distressing to me personally”.


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Canada

Canadian ambassador to China Dominic Barton resigns in wake of two Michaels’ release

Dominic Barton, Canada’s ambassador to China, is stepping down at the end of the year. Photo: Bloomberg

Ambassador Dominic Barton speaks to journalists and diplomats at the Canadian embassy in Beijing via video link from Dandong, where a local court convicted Canadian Michael Spavor of espionage on August 11. Photo: Reuters

Ambassador Dominic Barton gives a statement near the Dandong city detention centre after attending a hearing at which Canadian businessman Michael Spavor was convicted of spying on August 11. Photo: AFP

Supporters of Canada’s ‘two Michaels’ Spavor and Kovrig express relief but condemn China’s ‘arbitrary detention’

Supporters of the two men outside a court hearing for Meng Wanzhou in 2019. Photo: Reuters

FILE - In this file image made from a March 2, 2017, video, Michael Spavor, director of Paektu Cultural Exchange, talks during a Skype interview in Yanji, China. Two Canadians detained in China on spying charges have been released from prison and flown out of the country, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Friday, Sept. 24, 2021, hours after a top executive of Chinese communications giant Huawei Technologies resolved criminal charges against her in a deal with the U.S. Justice Department. (AP Photo/File)

FILE - In this file image made from a March 28, 2018, video, Michael Kovrig, an adviser with the International Crisis Group, a Brussels-based non-governmental organization, speaks during an interview in Hong Kong. Kovrig and Michael Spavor, two Canadians detained in China on spying charges, have been released from prison and flown out of the country, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Friday, Sept. 24, 2021, hours after a top executive of Chinese communications giant Huawei Technologies resolved criminal charges against her in a deal with the U.S. Justice Department. (AP Photo/File)

Meng Wanzhou’s shock release may not improve China’s relationships with US or Canada, analysts say

Protesters outside an extradition hearing for Huawei Technologies executive Meng Wanzhou in Vancouver in 2019 calling for China to release Canadian detainees Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig. Photo: Reuters

FILE PHOTO: A Huawei logo is seen on a cell phone screen in their store at Vina del Mar, Chile July 18, 2019. REUTERS/Rodrigo Garrido/File Photo

=== PHOTO CAPTURED ONLINE=== Filer of (L) Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig. Photo: Facebook

(210726) -- TIANJIN, July 26, 2021 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Xie Feng (3rd R) holds talks with U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman (3rd L) in north China's Tianjin on July 26, 2021. (Xinhua/Li Ran)

China wants ‘non-discriminatory’ treatment of Huawei, as survey says 76 per cent of Canadians want the tech company banned from 5G

Michael Kovrig embraces his wife Vina Nadjibulla, left, and sister Ariana Botha after arriving at Pearson International Airport in Toronto on September 25. Photo: The Canadian Press via AP

Huawei Technologies Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou waves as she steps out of a charter plane at Shenzhen Baoan International Airport in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, China September 25, 2021. Jin Liwang/Xinhua via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. CHINA OUT. NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES. TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY

Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, accompanied by Canada's Ambassador to China, Domenic Barton, are greeted on arrival by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau after being released from detention in China, in Calgary, Alberta, Canada September 25, 2021. DND-MDN Canada/Handout via REUTERS THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. MANDATORY CREDIT. NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES

Canada’s canola farmers hope Meng Wanzhou release ‘lowers the temperatures’ with China amid trade spat

China suspended the licences of two major Canadian shippers, Viterra and Richardson International, in 2019 in a move that was interpreted as retaliation over the arrest of Huawei chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou in Vancouver. Photo: AP

Meng Wanzhou returned to China at the end of September after nearly three years under house arrest in Canada. Photo: Reuters

Canada’s Justin Trudeau urges unified front against China detentions

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks during a news briefing at the Rideau Cottage in Ottawa in December. Photo: AFP

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Helping secure the freedom of Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor from detention in China in September was ‘the honour of a lifetime’, said Barton
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the pair’s release was thanks to Barton’s ‘leadership and skilled diplomatic approach’



Helping secure the freedom of Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor from detention in China in September was ‘the honour of a lifetime’, said Dominic Barton.


Huawei Technologies

Meng Wanzhou