China’s Move to Buy Arctic Gold Mine Draws Fire in Canadahttps://www.wsj.com/articles/chinas-move-to-buy-arctic-gold-mine-draws-fire-in-canada-11595764801 TORONTO—The purchase of a gold mine in the Canadian Arctic by a state-run Chinese company is triggering alarms in Canada over China’s expanding presence in a region that is growing in strategic importance for its shipping lanes and resources.
Opposition parties and former government officials have called on Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government to block Shandong Gold Mining Co., one of China’s largest gold miners, from buying Toronto-based TMAC Resources Inc., whose operation is almost 120 miles north of the Arctic Circle.
Mr. Trudeau’s cabinet has final say over the deal, but members of the Liberal Party government have stayed silent about it while it remains under review.
Opponents say Canada should block the deal to slow China’s growing control over strategic minerals. They also want to stop China from buying more assets in the Arctic. U.S. military and foreign-policy officials have warned that China could assert itself in the sensitive region like it has in the South China Sea.
This purchase should not go forward,” said Richard Fadden, who was national security adviser to both Mr. Trudeau and former Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper. “They are clearly adversaries, and I think we have to take that into account every time they seek to buy something.”
Although TMAC’s shareholders and Chinese regulators have approved the deal, it needs to be reviewed by Canadian authorities. Under Canadian law, the government must review any acquisition by a foreign state-owned enterprise and can block it to protect national security, a term that is left undefined in the law to give flexibility to officials.