The Chinese Ambassador to Canada, Cong Peiwu, is reported to have left his post and returned to China after nearly five years of service, a period marked by increasing tensions between the two countries.
The news was first reported by The Globe and Mail in Canada on April 19. It is said that Cong Peiwu informed the Canadian Department of Global Affairs and other diplomatic missions in Ottawa of his departure in a letter. This sudden development took many diplomatic missions by surprise.
The reason for Cong Peiwu’s departure has not been confirmed at this time.
Jean-Pierre J. Godbout, a spokesperson for the Canadian Department of Global Affairs, stated that the average term for foreign representatives in Canada is four to five years. The Chinese government has appointed Zhao Yong as the acting charge d’affaires of the Chinese Embassy in Canada. However, as of noon on the 20th, Cong Peiwu still appears as the Chinese ambassador on the embassy’s website.
At 57 years old, Cong Peiwu began his diplomatic career in the early 1990s at the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He served for many years in the North America Affairs Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and was appointed as the Chinese Ambassador to Canada in 2019.
During Cong Peiwu’s tenure as Ambassador to Canada, relations between China and Canada deteriorated significantly.
In 2018, Canada arrested Meng Wanzhou, the former Chief Financial Officer of Huawei, in response to a extradition request from the United States. In retaliation, China detained two Canadian citizens, Michael Spavor, the director of the Paektu Cultural Exchange, and Michael Kovrig, a former Canadian diplomat, for nearly three years. China’s hostage diplomacy drew criticism.
The Canadian government has repeatedly accused China of interfering in elections, leading to multiple summonses for Cong Peiwu. The Chinese Embassy in Ottawa has denied election interference allegations.
Furthermore, in 2023, the Canadian government announced the expulsion of Chinese diplomat Zhao Wei, who was accused of attempting to intimidate Michael Chong, a Conservative Party MP in Canada, and his family in Hong Kong due to Chong’s past criticisms of the Beijing authorities. In response, Beijing also revoked the credentials of Jennifer Lynn Lalonde, the Canadian Consul General in Shanghai.
The Globe and Mail reported that as Cong Peiwu departs, David Morrison, the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs in Canada, is currently visiting China, stating that this visit is part of efforts to promote reconciliation between Beijing and Ottawa.