Global News has learned the Canada Border Services Agency met in Ottawa with a Chinese government delegation from the province of Guangdong on Sept. 13 to discuss Canadian efforts to combat smuggling.
The meeting in September was set up by George Xu, the head of the Sino-Canada Technology Exchange Centre, an organization that sets up visits between Canadian and Chinese government delegations.
Sources told Global News Xu sent invitations to similar Canadian groups asking to discuss contraband trade, human trafficking and illegal immigration, as well as Canada’s “experience and strategies” in regard to the “illicit traffic of critical high technology and strategic goods.”
The last topic raises red flags for people concerned about China’s growing reputation as a master of industrial espionage.
China has been working to transform its labour-driven economy to one rooted in technology – technology experts say is sometimes stolen from countries like Canada, reproduced and sold in China and beyond.
“We know that China is by far the most dangerous country when it comes to espionage, the most dangerous country when it comes to stealing technology and exporting technology illegally back to China or to rogue countries,” said Michel Juneau-Katsuya, a former senior Canadian intelligence officer.
Read it on Global News: Global News | Chinese officials seek Canadian anti-smuggling secrets
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