[JohnnyB]

Originally Posted by PeteMoss

The bolded sounds like an argument the rich sports franchise owners make when they want government funding for their stadiums.

How is it comparable to private sports franchises asking tax payers to fund their development?

Taxpayers don't fund international students. International students actually pay very high fees. Those fees also help fund services for Canadians that attend the same institutions, and provide Canadian jobs. Canadian education is something that is sold to the world by Canadian institutions, and international students are their customers.

Visa restrictions that cut back the $4B contributed by Chinese students would just mean less money for Canadian schools, universities, colleges, training centres and the communities around them. It also means less taxes paid to support services for Canadian taxpayers. How is that desirable for Canadians, particularly in a time of economic uncertainty?

Beyond students, China is also a massive and fast-growing outbound tourism market, forecast to be worth $250B by around 2025. If Canadian businesses that profit from the Chinese tourist market would like to continue seeing that business, does that make them comparable to sports franchise owners asking for public funds?

Really, wouldn't it be nice if Canadian businesses could continue making money off these markets while regular Chinese people get to have a positive experience of Canada and take those positive memories and positive outlook on Canadian life home with them? They might even carry those positive experiences with them for a lifetime and be positively disposed towards Canadian culture, products and services. How is that not the most desirable outcome for Canadians?

Originally Posted by PeteMoss

And I don't think anyone is assuming any of these moves are going to hurt the popularity of the CCP.

So, again, why does it make sense for Canada? It wouldn't hurt the CCP. It would just limit the opportunity for Canadian institutions and businesses to make money and provide employment.

Originally Posted by PeteMoss

If that ever happens - it will because the US feels threatened by them and continues to pressure other countries to move away from China to the point their economy declines. This will be harder than it was with the Soviet Union because China has smartly thrown their wealth around so hurting the Chinese economy also means hurting the US and their partner's economy.

Agreed. This is what it's largely all about. The US cannot tolerate challenges to American hegemony. If China became democratic tomorrow and the CCP were voted back in by a populace that is actually generally very supportive of them, the US wouldn't suddenly embrace China as an ally. Even if the treatment of the Uighurs was completely changed, the US would not embrace China. The issue is that there is essentially an established world order under the US, and it's a world order that strongly favours the US and Western allies. China is a global rival in power now that wants to assert itself in the region and establish a separate order under its own relationships with other countries, and the US cannot tolerate that.