On January 16, the government of Canada released a Policy on Sensitive Technology Research and Affiliations of Concern, together with a list of sensitive technology research areas and a list of named research organizations including Chinese ones. The Canadian side politicized normal scientific and technological exchanges and cooperation under hypothetical pretexts, sabotaged the openness, trust and cooperation in the community of science and technology of China and Canada. The Chinese side is strongly dissatisfied with and firmly opposes this, and has made serious démarche to Canada.

China's efforts and achievements in science, technology and innovation are for all to see. In 2022, China spent more than 3 trillion yuan (about 418.2 billion U.S. dollars) on research and development, ranking 2nd worldwide. According to the Global Innovation Index 2023 released by the World Intellectual Property Organization, China ranks 12th in the world. Recently, China put forward the International Science and Technology Cooperation Initiative. The initiative calls for advocating and practicing the concept of open, fair, just and non-discriminatory international cooperation, exploring solutions to global issues through science, technology and innovation cooperation, jointly promoting peaceful development.

China-Canada exchange and cooperation in the area of science and technology is a two-way traffic and mutually-beneficial. The Canadian side politicizes and weaponizes scientific and technological cooperation issues, which is completely a short-sighted act of pursuing ''small yards with high fences''. We urge the Canadian side to correct its wrong practice, discard the ideological bias and cold war mentality, stop suppressing Chinese academic institutions by abusing tools such as the above mentioned lists, and help create a favorite environment for open and free international cooperation of science and technology. Otherwise, it will only hurt others without benefiting itself.