WEST SIDE STORIES — Prime Minister JUSTIN TRUDEAU arrives in San Francisco today to rub shoulders and exude some Big Pacific Country energy with leaders. Trudeau will kick off his three days in the Golden State with a meeting with Gov. GAVIN NEWSOM. The two leaders are scheduled to talk clean tech before the prime minister is shimmied away to host a roundtable this afternoon for Canadian “innovators.” His day ends at a dinner hosted by Salesforce CEO MARC BENIOFF. World leaders are in California for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting, lately known as the President JOE BIDEN and Chinese President XI JINPING Summit. — High stakes: The Biden administration is seeking calm with China. Three senior administration officials told POLITICO the White House wants to work things out with Beijing so it can focus its energy on Israel and Ukraine. — Obvious next question: Will Trudeau and Xi have a bilat? Senior Canadian government officials wouldn’t say during a briefing on the prime minister’s APEC itinerary. — Potential turning point: Former Liberal prime minister JEAN CHRÉTIEN raised eyebrows earlier this month when the Chinese government issued a readout of his surprise meeting in Beijing with Xi’s deputy, Chinese Vice President HAN ZHENG. Playbook asked the Senior Canadian Government Officials to confirm if Trudeau and Chrétien have spoken since that meeting. It seemed relevant to know how thoroughly the prime minister has done his APEC homework. “Not to my knowledge,” said one official on the condition of anonymity to speak freely-ish. The official said they don’t keep tabs on everyone the prime minister talks to. “Officials and elected officials are free to pursue their own approaches.” — Tick tock: It’s been more than eight years since a newly elected Trudeau first sold “Canada is back” as a snappy motto to inspire the country's return to the world stage as a joiner, mover and shaker. — Foreign policy as domestic policy: When Trudeau was first elected, he gave an interview to The New York Times Magazine in which he declared Canada the world’s “first postnational state.” He claimed at the time that Canada does not have a core identity and “no mainstream.” “There are shared values — openness, respect, compassion, willingness to work hard, to be there for each other, to search for equality and justice.” Fast forward to present day in which the Israel-Hamas war has lit a powder keg within his own Liberal caucus and across Canada. The crisis forced politicians to become experts in diaspora politics real quick in order to contain a wave of rising antisemitism and Islamophobia across the country. — Canada and the world: After a battery announcement in British Columbia on Tuesday, Trudeau fielded question after question about foreign affairs. He was asked if the government’s pro-Israel stance — specifically if Canada’s recent vote at the United Nations against condemning Israeli settlements in occupied Palestinian territory and the Golan — could cause Canada to lose credibility with “the Global South.” The prime minister didn’t answer. “We will continue to stand unequivocally as we always have against illegal settlements,” he said. “They don't contribute to the two-state solution. They're actually impediments to it.” — He’s a talker: Trudeau asked Israel’s government to “exercise maximum restraint” to minimize civilian deaths. When asked why Canada isn’t calling for a cease-fire — as some MPs are urging him to do — Trudeau offered a soliloquy-length response that clocked in 4 minutes and 46 seconds. “I think we can all agree we want to see an end to the violence in the Middle East,” the prime minister said. “I celebrate the freedom of expression that we continue to have as Canadians to speak up and express our concerns, our fears, our desire to see a solution.” — Today’s talker: Israeli Prime Minister BENJAMIN NETANYAHU didn’t like Trudeau’s comments. Bibi hit back directly at Trudeau on X, defending Israel’s military blitz in Gaza. “It is Hamas not Israel that should be held accountable for committing a double war crime - targeting civilians while hiding behind civilians,” Netanyahu said. — ‘Post-national’ government policies: Pro-Palestinian rallies have been organized across the country, including several on Parliament Hill. Foreign Affairs Minister MÉLANIE JOLY’s department says its employees haven’t been officially told to not join. “Global Affairs Canada did not provide directives on the participation in rallies related to the current conflict in Israel-Gaza,” spokesperson JEAN-PIERRE GODBOUT confirmed in an email. — Summit season: Diaspora politics has chewed up the energy of the prime minister's office since Parliament returned in September, forcing the government to confront a policy blindspot in foreign affairs. — Seats at other tables: After Trudeau wraps at APEC on Friday, he'll head back to Ottawa before heading east next week for the Canada-EU leaders’ summit.
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