His first stop, along with Trade Minister Mary Ng and Foreign Minister Melanie Joly, will be the Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit in Cambodia. Trudeau will then head to Indonesia for the G20 summit in Bali, meet with leaders of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation group in Bangkok, Thailand and make a final stop in Tunisia before returning home.

		Read more: Joly warns Canadian companies of ‘risks’ of doing business with China, says new policy coming 		
	read more 	


			Joly warns Canadian companies about ‘risks’ of doing business with China, says new policy imminent

The tour comes amid a recent government push to build stronger ties in the Indo-Pacific region – and increasingly tough discussions around the cabinet table when it comes to China. Story continues below ad “It’s this idea of ​​moving away from China but also trying to diversify our relationship with the Indo-Pacific,” said Stephanie Carvin, a national security expert and associate professor at Carleton University. “We have already seen our major allies develop Indo-Pacific strategies. We are a little behind.” Here’s what you need to know about what the Trudeau government is trying to accomplish in the next 10 days.

			What are Canada’s objectives in the Indo-Pacific region?

Upon his arrival in Cambodia, Trudeau will meet with the 10 countries that make up the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, which are currently negotiating a trade deal with Canada. As for the G20 summit in Indonesia, Trudeau is expected to press the world’s biggest economies to isolate Russia over its invasion of Ukraine. The summit is intended to focus on supporting health systems as well as strengthening food and energy security, which Trudeau says Russia has undermined. Story continues below ad But the trip also comes as the Trudeau government has signaled a much larger, underlying goal: to strengthen Canada’s presence in the region. Canada is on the verge of unveiling its Indo-Pacific strategy, Joly confirmed Wednesday. 0:35 China disputes Mélanie Joly’s characterization of Asian nation, says comments ‘contrary to facts’ The plan will have five main goals, he said, including promoting peace and security, pursuing trade and investment, defending human rights, fighting climate change and building regional relations. As Canada strengthens its relations with other countries in the region, it also plans to step up its push into China. Speaking this week, Joly said the government would invest “in deepening our understanding of how China thinks, works and plans. How does it influence the region and around the world.” Key embassies in Canada’s network will have “dedicated experts,” Joly said, to deepen the government’s understanding of China’s goals and challenges. Story continues below ad “This will be the focus of our diplomatic effort,” he said. So far, the plans for the Indo-Pacific region mark a “big change” in Canada’s foreign policy, according to Carvin. “There’s a real willingness right now to really rethink and move away from China,” he said. Canada appears ready to try to improve relations with other countries in the region, Carvin noted, such as South Korea and Japan. “These (countries) are kind of seen as the high hopes, in terms of investment and work in things like electronic batteries and rare earth mining,” he said. Current trend

			TikToker raises over $175,000 to help elderly Walmart worker retire 	   				Mattea Roach was eliminated in the semifinals from Jeopardy!  Tournament of Champions 	     


																0:53Joly warns Canadian companies of ‘dangers’ of doing business with China

The importance of diplomacy in securing these kinds of partnerships with other nations is underestimated, according to Carvin — and to date, Canada has “underinvested” in its diplomatic presence in the region, she said. Story continues below ad “I think in general people think well of Canada, but they have to think of us first,” Carvin explained. “That’s why it’s important to have a strong presence in the region.” Carvin said she would watch for increased investment in diplomacy in the Indo-Pacific region as a sign of Canada’s seriousness about policy change in the region — a change that, she said, “on paper, (sounds) really good.”

			Why is Canada now focusing on the Indo-Pacific region?

On Monday, Global News reported that Canadian intelligence officials had warned Prime Minister Justin Trudeau that China was allegedly targeting Canada with a massive foreign interference campaign that included funding a secret network of at least 11 federal candidates running for the 2019 elections. Days after the report, Joly came out on Wednesday with some of her sharpest criticism of the Chinese government to date. Story continues below ad “China is an increasingly disruptive global force,” Jolie said. “It seeks to shape the global environment into one that is more permissive for interests and values ​​that are further and further removed from our own.” That recognition, Jolly said, has forced Canada — among other countries — to reshape its “strategic perspective” in the Indo-Pacific region. “To put it plainly: the decisions made in the region will affect the lives of Canadians for generations,” Jolly said. “We need to be at the table, step up our game and increase our influence.”

		Read more: Canadian intelligence warns PM Trudeau that China secretly funded 2019 election candidates: Sources

Canada has been slow to recognize the importance of strengthening its friendships in the region, Carvin said, and many of our allies have beaten us to the punch. But recent developments have been a “wake-up call” for the Canadian government. “I think there was some hope that China would be a reliable partner, possibly an alternative to the United States, which has obviously been very intolerant under President Trump,” he said. “I think we’ve learned our lesson that this is just something that’s not sustainable.” Story continues below ad Four key factors likely prompted Canada to shift its approach to China and the surrounding region, Carvin explained. First, Canada was forced to abandon the free trade agreement it had sought with China due to the Chinese government’s late-game “tough” negotiations. Following this, two Canadian citizens, Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig, were arbitrarily detained in China for over a year. “They were just obviously being used as hostages … it was really shocking, not only to the Canadian government, (but also) to the Canadian population,” Carvin said. That fueled a third factor — public perception has quickly turned on China, the national security expert said. “Canadians have gone from seeing China as a potential partner to an adversary,” he explained. “I don’t think there is much public appetite for strengthening relations with China. In fact, there is a strong public appetite for a move away from China.” Finally, Canada’s allies are increasingly drawing their lines in the sand—and signaling that they would like their geopolitical partners to follow suit. “The United States has made it clear that it is distancing itself from China and expects its allies to do the same,” Carvin said. Story continues below ad 2:05 Trudeau government signals tougher stance on China after alleged election meddling The U.S. government, which is Canada’s largest trading partner, is “playing hardball,” according to Carvin. “Canada has to make a choice. Do we go with the country that accounts for 80 percent of our trade or 4 percent of our trade?” While recent rhetoric from the Canadian government suggests it has chosen to distance itself from China where possible as it builds friendships with others in the Indo-Pacific region, Carvin said she will be watching to see how the Canadian government navigates the “difficult choices” which are in front. “You can’t ignore the challenge that China poses right now to Canada’s global order and national security, frankly. But also, you cannot ignore the fact that it is the second largest economy in the world,” he said. “You have to come up with an approach that balances our national security, economic concerns, but those involve some tough choices. So I guess what I’m looking for is: what are those hard choices going to be?” Story continues below ad — With files from Global News’ Sam Cooper