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According to China’s Ministry of Commerce, Canada’s request for Hikvision to stop its local operations will “damage” bilateral trade, putting strain on previous efforts to bolster bilateral cooperation.

After Canadian Industry Minister Melanie Joly announced last week on the social media platform X that Hikvision Canada Inc. had been ordered to stop all operations because it thought their continued operation would “inflict harm” the nation’s security, Joly made the remarks on Monday.

Departments and agencies would be prohibited from using Hikvision products, according to her statement on Friday, which did not provide specifics about the alleged threat posed by them. Additionally, the government is “conducting a review of existing properties to ensure that legacy Hikvision products are not used going forward.”

China’s Commerce Ministry reacted by accusing Ottawa of “overgeneralizing national security,” saying that “China is very disappointed.”

The statement read, “This not only undermines the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies, but it also tramples and damages the normal economic and trade cooperation between China and Canada,” the statement read.

China is urged to correct its unethical practices right away, it continued.

Hikvision, based in Hangzhou, is one of the top manufacturers of surveillance equipment in the world, but it has been subject to international scrutiny for its role in Beijing’s alleged human rights violations against the Uighur population’s Muslim minority.

Hikvision was listed among a 2019 blacklist of Chinese organizations that, according to the United States, were implicated in human rights violations and abuses in the Xinjiang-based government’s campaign of repression, mass arbitrary detention, and high-technology surveillance of Uighurs and other minority groups.

After Prime Minister Mark Carney won an election victory in April, the most recent disagreement poses a fresh set of challenges for China-Canada relations.

Beijing and Ottawa, whose relationship has been strained in recent years by a number of thorny issues, were reportedly ready to improve ties with Beijing, according to China in response to the election result.

Relations between Beijing and China sat on a deep freeze following the arrest of a senior Chinese telecom executive in Vancouver in December 2018 on a US warrant.

China’s accusations of interference in Canadian elections in 2019 and 2021, which Beijing has refuted, further strained relations.

Following a weekend of antigovernment demonstrations that sparked clashes with the police and sparked a pouring of months-long public outrage against the government, Serbian police have removed the barricades that protesters have set up in the capital.

A number of protesters chanted anti-government slogans and pledged to walk back to the streets on Monday as police removed metal fences and moved trash containers in Belgrade’s Zemun district.

The police stated in a statement that numerous people had been detained, but did not provide their phone number. Those who demonstrate against a populist government that they accuse of authoritarian policies are angry about their arrests.

Protesters have demanded that those accused of plotting to overthrow the government or attacking the police be immediately released.

During a visit to Spain on Monday, President Aleksandar Vucic praised the police’s actions and said, “Citizens should not worry, the state is strong enough to secure law and order.”

After the roof collapse of a train station in Novi Sad in November, 16 people died in protests led by students over the past eight months.

Although the incident occurred shortly after the station’s renovations were complete, poor construction and widespread corruption were at the center of the incident.

In one of the largest demonstrations in recent months, 140, 000 people gathered in Belgrade on Saturday to demand a quick election to overthrow Vucic’s right-wing government. Authorities have disputed the crowd’s size, saying only about 36 000 people were demonstrating.

Nearly 50 police officers and 22 protesters were hurt in clashes with the police during the protest. Batons, pepper spray, and shields were among the items that Riot police used to fire at demonstrators who threw rocks.

About 40 people are currently facing criminal charges as a result of the altercation, according to the police. At least eight university students were taken into custody by Serbian authorities as part of their plot to attack state institutions.

The prime minister resigned and the government fell after the disaster in November due to public outcry.

Vucic, who had previously announced a snap election ahead of its scheduled 2027 date, reshuffled his cabinet and created a new government.

The president claimed that protesters had been trying to “topple Serbia” but failed by using “foreign powers” to orchestrate the Saturday demonstration.

Russia, a close neighbor, expressed concern over the protests on Monday, claiming that it might be an attempt to “color revolution,” in reference to Ukraine’s 2004 Orange Revolution.

There is no denying that the Serbian leadership will be able to bring back order in the republic in the near future, it continued.