Chinese President Xi Jinping berated Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at an on-camera glitzy G20 summit, an unusual public outcry that could further complicate strained relations between the two countries.

Footage taken by reporters at the conclave for world leaders in Bali on Wednesday showed Xi chiding Trudeau after details of a discussion between the two leaders leaked to the media.

Trudeau had raised with Xi on Tuesday the issue of Chinese “meddling” with Canadian citizens after Ottawa in recent weeks accused Beijing of interfering in its democratic and judicial system.

In the one-minute video clip recorded on the sidelines of the Indonesian summit, Xi Trudeau says through an interpreter: “Everything we discussed leaked to the newspapers. That is not appropriate.”

Equally, with a slight smile, Xi says, “And that’s not how (our discussion) was conducted, was it?

“When there is sincerity, we can have conversations based on mutual respect. Otherwise the results will be unpredictable,” he adds, looking directly at Trudeau.

Xi then appears to try to walk past Trudeau, but the Canadian leader replies, “In Canada we believe in free, open and open dialogue and we will continue to have that.

“We will continue to try to work together constructively, but there will be things that we disagree on,” he told Xi.

Xi raised his hands, interrupted him and said bluntly, “Create the conditions. Create the conditions.”

He then spreads his smile and barely looks at Trudeau as he shakes his hand and leaves his counterpart to leave the room.

It is not clear when, if ever, Xi will learn the conversation will be filmed.

The tone was comparable to “a great power talking to a lesser power,” said Van Jackson, lecturer in international relations at Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand.

“Xi’s speech and posture were not at all unusual for government officials who are less than friendly with each other — privately,” Jackson told AFP.

Tensions between China and the United States put Canada in a “particularly awkward position,” he said, adding that Ottawa’s “embedment in the network of intelligence-sharing Anglo-Saxon democracies all but ensures that it will withstand China’s wrath over time.” will attract more and more will pass”.

Xi’s meeting with Trudeau on Tuesday marked the first face-to-face dialogue between the two leaders since 2019.

Canada’s federal police said last week they were investigating so-called police stations set up illegally by Beijing in the North American country.

Trudeau also said last week China was playing “aggressive games” after Canadian broadcaster Global News reported on a “clandestine network” of federal election candidates funded by Beijing.

Relations between the two countries faltered when Canadian authorities arrested Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou in 2018 for allegedly flouting US sanctions on Iran.

Beijing later arrested two Canadian nationals in China, Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig, in what critics called a rebellion.

Meng and the two Canadians were released last year after lengthy negotiations.