Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks during a news conference on COVID-19 situation in Canada from his residence on March 16, 2020 in Ottawa, Canada. Photo: AFP

It is high time for Canada and China to bury the hatchet and work cooperatively with the coronavirus control and cures.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau should have stood his ground and condemned US President Trump's threats to pull US funding from the WHO under misrepresented facts that it is sided with China. This is immoral and puts untold numbers of lives in peril - including the Americans' he purports to lead. 

As is plain to all Canadians, Trump's policy has posed a challenge to global public health. After all, two of America's hardest hit virus states, New York and Washington, border Canada. Thankfully, they are taking action. 

The seven US Northeastern States of New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Rhode Island and Massachusetts are joining hands in a regional coalition to combat COVID-19 and revive their economies. Another COVID-19 fighting coalition has also formed on the Pacific coast with California, Oregon and Washington. I hope we Canadians look at this carefully for how we can help our border neighbors without putting our true American friends in jeopardy of the US Logan Act, which forbids negotiation by unauthorized American citizens with foreign governments having a dispute with the US. 

I mention this here because if Canada is to truly go forward with stronger ties with China—for one, releasing Meng Wanzhou, Huawei CFO who is currently in custody in Canada, back to her homeland—we can expect push back from the Trump administration. Unless, of course, he is not reelected in November.

Because America is a big mess at the present because of him, we (as well as other countries serious about curbing COVID-19) need to analyze which American states are stable for international action for public health and business and act accordingly.

Broad public messaging and partnerships can be created with our resources already established under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). True, Trudeau and Trump did sign the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, but the USMCA has not been ratified by the US Senate yet so is not fully binding. 

Indeed, one of the dissenting votes for it on the Senate Finance Committee is Pennsylvania Senator Pat Toomey. Known as the Keystone State, Pennsylvania is also a good neighbor of Canada. 

I believe cultural and economic stabilization of Sino-Canadian partnerships can achieve these ends as we look directly at and past COVID-19. At present relations are strained between China and Canada because of how the US foisted Meng and Huawei into our laps. While some of us were a bit rude to Huawei's helpful donations of masks to us, others noted it as an olive branch and of showing respect. 

We need to come together and work like never before. I hope Canadians and Chinese will comprehend our complicated situation with the US and acknowledge we behave with the utmost sense of decorum and diplomacy.

The author worked for the House of Commons in Ottawa, Canada, before moving to China where he spent 16 years as a successful entrepreneur. opinion@globaltimes.com.cn