Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in a press conference during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Bangkok on November 18, 2022. Photo: VCG

China has expressed strong dissatisfaction and firm opposition to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's malicious slander over China's human rights record during his visit to the US, where he insinuated that China's lithium production uses so-called slave labor, a completely baseless accusation, according to the spokesperson of the Chinese Embassy in Canada on Saturday, stressing that so-called forced labor does not exist in China, but exists in the US, Canada and some other Western countries.

The Chinese embassy's strong opposition stems from Trudeau's smear campaign in a speech at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York on Friday, in which he suggested, without giving any evidence, that China's ability to become the world's largest producer of lithium was linked to "slave labor."

"The Canadian politician's attempt to link China's lithium production with 'slave labor' is essentially political manipulation and economic bullying under the guise of human rights, aiming to undermine China's prosperity and stability and curb China's development," the embassy spokesperson said.

Canadian politician's baseless China-related remarks are nothing more than a thief crying 'stop thief'. Such absurd allegations such as "slave labor" and "forced labor" are entirely a reflection of the culpability of the US, Canada and some other Western countries, the spokesperson pointed out.

The Chinese Embassy in Canada revealed that from 1525 to 1866, more than 12.5 million Africans were trafficked to the Americas to engage in forced labor. Today, the US remains a major disaster center of forced labor. Academic institutions in the US have reported that there are currently more than 500,000 people living in modern slavery in the US.

Canada is no better, as many Black and Indigenous people have been forced into slavery in the country over the past century, some cities even ran slave auctions. At the same time, the persecution of Aboriginal children, systemic racism, anti-Muslim, anti-African, anti-Asian and other religious and racial discrimination are frequent occurrence in Canada, the spokesperson said.

Faced with these disgraceful actions and crimes, Canadian politicians turn a blind eye to their own serious human rights problems while enthusiastically playing the role of "human rights preachers," the spokesperson said, pointing that Canada is in no position to comment on the human rights situation in China.

The spokesperson stressed that the Chinese people have the most say in China's human rights situation. China has historically resolved the problem of absolute poverty, achieved the transition of 1.4 billion people from poverty to moderate prosperity, increased average life expectancy to 78.2 years, and established the world's largest education, social security, medical care, and system of grassroots democracy. The sense of gain, happiness, and security of the Chinese people is more solid, guaranteed, and sustainable, and their lives have been comprehensively improved. This is a fact that any unbiased person must acknowledge."

The Chinese side urges the Canadian side to look in the mirror, deeply reflect, and take practical measures to solve its own serious human rights issues. At the same time, urging Canada to respect the facts, discard biases, and stop maliciously slandering China's human rights situation; otherwise, they will only harm themselves, the spokesperson said.

Recently, leaders of the US and Canada have repeatedly hyped China-related issues during their interactions, including during US President Joe Biden's visit to Canada in March, which has caused serious concern in China. The Chinese Embassy in Canada previously stated that at present, China-Canada relations are facing difficulties, which China does not want to see, but China is not responsible for these issues.

Global Times