Canada is objecting to a Chinese court's death sentence for Canadian drug smuggler Robert Lloyd Schellenberg. But its opposition will not exert any influence on China. Canada has no special card to make Chinese law yield.
Recently a few US allies have been treating China rudely, trying to mobilize Western forces to pile pressure on Beijing. At this point, it is impossible for China to be timid and soft.
When a few countries forget that Chinese laws and interests must be respected, Beijing needs to remind them with actual moves.
China is determined to promote its opening-up to the world. But amid highly complicated China-US relations, the process of opening-up is growing more complex amid increasing friction. The Chinese people should get used to it and understand the new situation.
China's strategic determination to open further is unwavering under any circumstances, in particular during a China-US trade war. This resolve is more than a slogan, but a basic development strategy and a political philosophy which must be unswervingly implemented in the whole course of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.
Opening-up means not only dealing with amicable partners in business, but also engaging in fierce and even thrilling competition and games.
China needs a broad mind-set and a strong heart, especially at this point in time. Ottawa is backed by Washington. Meanwhile it is forming cliques with more Western allies. So what? Beijing should stick with itself as long as it believes in itself. No consequences should worry us if our basic national diplomatic principles and the general principles of international relations can be defended.
We must clarify that China won't compromise even if Western public opinion and officials from particular countries are backing Canada. The truth is not defined by a particular Western country.
The West is speaking louder, but that does not mean it can represent the whole world. Unreasonable pressure from outside public opinion means nothing to China.
We must force every Western country to talk with China in a reasonable way, not to play as vexatiously as Canada. Reasonable talk means mutual respect and coping with disputes on the basis of values and the rules of both sides.
It is not easy to make countries like Canada aware of it, and so we need to help them get it gradually, one event at a time.
China is powerful enough to safeguard its own laws from external brutal impact and is able to maintain strength in defending its core interests.
From conflicts to conflicts, through cooperation to cooperation, China's gate remains open to the US and Canada. The more flexible we switch between the two, the more it shows how open China really is.