Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday suggested that China uses slave labor in the production of lithium as he discussed Canada's efforts to ramp up production of the critical metal used in electric vehicle and other batteries.
Canada last fall announced a tougher policy on critical mineral investment - particularly from dominant producer China - as it worked to shore up its domestic supply of critical minerals after the global pandemic exposed supply chain problems that caused major production disruptions.
Canada has significant sources of lithium, Trudeau said. However China has made strategic choices over the decades that have made it by far the world's largest producer of the lithium used in cell phones and electric vehicles, he added in remarks at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York.
"If we're honest ... the lithium produced in Canada is going to be more expensive, because we don't use slave labor," Trudeau said.
"Because we put forward environmental responsibility as something we actually expect to be abided by. Because we count on working with, in partnership with indigenous peoples, paying their living wages, expecting security and safety standards."
A representative for the Chinese Embassy in Ottawa did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Diplomatic tensions between Canada and China have been running high since the detention of Huawei Technologies executive Meng Wanzhou in 2018 and Beijing's subsequent arrest of two Canadians on spying charges.
In November, Canada ordered three Chinese companies to divest their investments in Canadian critical minerals, citing national security. China in response accused Ottawa of using national security as a pretext and said the divestment order broke international commerce and market rules.
U.S. President Joe Biden and Trudeau presented a united front last month against authoritarian regimes as Biden visited the Canadian capital days after the leaders of China and Russia held a Moscow summit.
(Reporting by Doina Chiacu; Editing by Bill Berkrot)
