OTTAWA — Canada’s attempt to reset relations with China should be taken with caution, observers urge.

Alan Kessel, a senior fellow at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute and a former Canadian diplomat, told the Toronto Sun that, with the United States proving an unreliable and unfriendly trade partner, it’s natural for Canada to look east — a move that comes with risk.

“It’s Canada hedging against the end of the ‘special relationship,'” he said. “There are concerns to watch out for — engagement can’t mean blindness.”

China’s leverage, Kessel said, always comes with strings attached — evidenced by China’s dubious relationships in Africa, which many have described as exploitive and quasi-colonial despite being described as “investments” in the region.

“Beijing doesn’t buy friendship. It

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