Virtual Events

Canada's relationship with the People's Republic of China (PRC) is entering a new chapter — and the opportunities are significant. Renewed diplomatic ties, reduced tariffs on key exports, and fresh interest from major Chinese investors signal real momentum. But seizing those opportunities requires more than optimism. It requires understanding how Beijing operates and guardrails to protect Canadian values, as well as economic and national security interests.

The Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada is launching PRC Power Abroad and the Guardrails We Need — a new webinar series unpacking the PRC's evolving foreign policy toolkit. Each session brings leading global experts to offer practical insights for Canadian businesses, policymakers, and advocates looking to engage China strategically — and on Canada's terms.

Visit the Webinar Series Main Page

Session 4: China's Toolkit and the Rules-Based International Order 

The PRC's relationship with the international order is more complex than either accommodation or confrontation. This session examines how the PRC engages with international institutions and norms — selectively invoking, contesting, and reshaping them in ways that reflect a distinctive approach to globalized populism as foreign policy. In this session, Potter will draw on his forthcoming book China and the Rules-Based International Order to map where the existing order is under strain, where it retains traction, and what the implications are for middle powers like Canada — exploring how principled pragmatism can help Canadian policy navigate foreign interference, asymmetric trade pressure, and human rights concerns while maintaining constructive engagement. 

Canada's relationship with the People's Republic of China (PRC) is entering a new chapter — and the opportunities are significant. Renewed diplomatic ties, reduced tariffs on key exports, and fresh interest from major Chinese investors signal real momentum. But seizing those opportunities requires more than optimism. It requires understanding how Beijing operates and guardrails to protect Canadian values, as well as economic and national security interests.

The Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada is launching PRC Power Abroad and the Guardrails We Need — a new webinar series unpacking the PRC's evolving foreign policy toolkit. Each session brings leading global experts to offer practical insights for Canadian businesses, policymakers, and advocates looking to engage China strategically — and on Canada's terms.

Visit the Webinar Series Main Page

Session 3: PRC’s Strategy of Lawfare and Lessons from Hong Kong

Hong Kong's common law system was once treated as an institutional firewall. This session traces how it was dismantled — from the 1997 sovereignty transfer through the 2019 Anti-Extradition Bill protests and their aftermath. Dr. Eric Lai, Senior Fellow at Georgetown Center for Asian Law, and author of Legal Resistance under Authoritarianism, will examine how a critical minority of legal professionals resisted state encroachment, the limits of that resistance, and what Hong Kong's experience reveals about the vulnerability of legal institutions to sustained political pressure from above.

Canada's relationship with the People's Republic of China (PRC) is entering a new chapter — and the opportunities are significant. Renewed diplomatic ties, reduced tariffs on key exports, and fresh interest from major Chinese investors signal real momentum. But seizing those opportunities requires more than optimism. It requires understanding how Beijing operates and guardrails to protect Canadian values, as well as economic and national security interests.

The Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada is launching PRC Power Abroad and the Guardrails We Need — a new webinar series unpacking the PRC's evolving foreign policy toolkit. Each session brings leading global experts to offer practical insights for Canadian businesses, policymakers, and advocates looking to engage China strategically — and on Canada's terms.

Visit the Webinar Series Main Page

Session 2: PRC’s Strategy of Economic Statecraft

Trade relationships can become pressure points — and the PRC has proved more systematic about this than most. This session examines the weaponization of trade and investment as tools of authoritarian economic statecraft, exploring how the PRC deploys economic power to achieve geopolitical ends and drawing a sharp contrast with more familiar Western instruments like sanctions. Bethany Allen, author of Beijing Rules: How China Weaponized its Economy to Confront the World will consider where targeted states have found ways to absorb or deflect pressure, and whether existing international institutions offer meaningful recourse — or whether countries are largely on their own. 

Visit our Events page for other sessions in this series in June 2026.