For the past 18 months, the Canada-China Focus (CCF) project has worked to create a non-partisan and safe space for constructive conversations on Canada-China relations. We recognize that world events can have direct effects on communities, and the CCF plans to continue devoting its activities into the new year towards supporting those affected by anti-Asian racism; building cross-community understanding and solidarities with particular attention to the lessons of history; networking to promote an independent Canadian foreign policy; and, where appropriate, promoting Canada-China cooperation in the areas of labour, health, climate justice, and peace.
We are grateful to our partners and sponsors, the Center for Global Studies at the University of Victoria, and the Canadian Foreign Policy Institute. 

The Institute for Peace and Diplomacy will host an event examining Van Jackson‘s latest book, Pacific Power Paradox: American Statecraft and the Fate of the Asian Peace, on February 8, 2023 at 3:00 PM ET. Dr. Jackson is a Senior Lecturer in international relations at the Victoria University of Wellington, a Distinguished Fellow at the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada, and the author of several books including On the Brink and Rival.

After more than a century of recurring conflict, the countries of the Asia-Pacific region have managed something remarkable: avoiding war among nations. Since 1979, Asia has endured threats, near-miss crises, and nuclear proliferation but no interstate war. How fragile is this “Asian peace,” and what is America‘s role in it? In his latest book Pacific Power Paradox: American Statecraft and the Fate of the Asian Peace, Van Jackson argues that because Washington takes for granted that the United States is a force for good, successive presidencies have failed to see how their statecraft impedes more durable forms of security and inadvertently embrittles peace. At times, the United States has been the region‘s bulwark against instability, but America has been a threat to Asian peace as much as it has been its guarantor. By grappling with how America fits into the Asian story, Van Jackson shows how regional stability has diminished because of U.S. choices, and why America‘s margin for geopolitical error is less now than ever before.

Over 700 people attended the Stop Anti-Asian Hate Crimes Advocacy Group (SAAHCAG) fundraising banquet held in Richmond, BC on January 12. The banquet highlighted the activities of the group over the past year and commemorated the 100th anniversary of the Chinese Exclusion Act. CCF Advisory Group member John Price spoke to the gathering about the history of resistance to white supremacy in BC. SAAHCAG self-defines as a community organization to promote social harmony, fight racism, and build connections in Canada. It is incorporated in B.C. as a not-for-profit and non-partisan association of Canadians with Asian heritages. It‘s website is https://1-2-3.site