China informed the Canadian government of its intention regarding the departure of its ambassador  

The reliable and widely circulated newspaper 'The Globe and Mail' in Canada revealed the departure of Ambassador Kong Piyu at a time when Canadian-Chinese relations are at their lowest.

The website of the Chinese embassy in Ottawa does not mention the ambassador's departure, the reasons for which are still unknown. It is also unclear if the position left vacant by Kong will be filled by another diplomat.

According to a government source who spoke to the media on the condition of anonymity, the Chinese government informed Global Affairs Canada of Ambassador Kong's intention to leave his position.

Kong's departure comes at a time when David Morrison, an assistant minister in Global Affairs Canada, is in Beijing on a mission aimed at repairing relations with the Chinese authorities in preparation for a potential visit by Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly to the Chinese capital.

However, the Canadian government source emphasizes that there is no connection between these two events.

Kong, 57 years old, began his career as a diplomat in the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the early 1990s, then worked in the North America section of the ministry for several years before being appointed ambassador to Canada in November 2019.

Relations between Beijing and Ottawa have deteriorated sharply in recent years, particularly after Canadian authorities arrested Huawei's CFO Meng Wanzhou in December 2018 and placed her under house arrest at the request of U.S. authorities based on judicial grounds, prompting China to detain Canadians Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor nine days later, imprisoning them under harsh conditions for nearly three years, until the authorities of both countries released the three.

Additionally, Ottawa accuses the Chinese authorities of attempting to interfere several times in the federal elections in Canada in 2019 and 2021, the last two federal electoral operations.

A public investigation is currently underway in Canada to look into these attempts at interference in elections and democratic institutions.

Ambassador Kong faced 'numerous' rebukes from Global Affairs Canada in December 2022 after the discovery of secret Chinese police stations in Canada. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (federal police) launched an investigation into these offices, which are believed to have been used to monitor Chinese citizens in Canada on behalf of President Xi Jinping's communist regime in Beijing.

It is worth noting that Canadian authorities expelled a Chinese diplomat accredited to them, named Gao Wei, in May 2023 after uncovering his attempt to intimidate the family of Canadian MP Michael Chong in Hong Kong.