Provocation: Ottawa's claim 'totally groundless'

China on Tuesday declared Shanghai-based Canadian diplomat Jennifer Lynn Lalonde "persona non grata" and asked the consular official to leave the country before Saturday in response to the Canadian side's unreasonable provocation.

The move against Lalonde is a reciprocal countermeasure after Canada on Monday declared a diplomat of the Consulate-General of China in Toronto "persona non grata" and expelled the diplomat based on so-called "allegations" that Beijing tried to intimidate a Canadian politician and interfere in the country's elections.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said at a regular news briefing that China has lodged serious representations and a strong protest to Canada and the countermeasure taken by China is to uphold its legitimate rights and interests, which is fully justified and necessary.

China will not waver in its resolve to uphold its interests, he said, urging Canada to immediately stop the provocation.

"If Ottawa decides to continue its wanton acts, Beijing will make a resolute response and all consequences must be borne by Canada," Wang said.

The spokesman emphasized that China never interferes in the internal affairs of other countries, saying that the unfounded claims by Canada are political manipulation driven by ideology and designed to denigrate China.

It is vicious for Canada to make such trumped-up accusations, which violate the basic norms governing international relations and undermine its relationship with China, Wang said.

According to Wang, for quite some time, Canadian media and relevant politicians have cited so-called classified documents and fabricated disinformation to smear the Chinese diplomatic and consular missions in Canada.

The accusations are not based on facts but are trumped-up and have a hidden agenda, he said.

China's Consulate General in Toronto said the slander against its staff "has no factual basis and is totally groundless".

The consulate said it has always followed the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations and the Consular Agreement between the two countries and that its officers have never engaged in activities inconsistent with their official capacities.

"Those Canadian media and politicians have been spreading disinformation with intent to damage the reputation and image of the Chinese Consulate General and maliciously disrupt normal exchanges and cooperation between the two sides," the consulate said.

By ZHOU JIN