"McKay told CBC News he can't stay silent as China persecutes the Uighur minority through the "virtual enslavement and imprisonment of an entire population" and dismantles the hard-won democratic rights of Hong Kongers.

"There's no accommodation that you can make with China," he said, adding that Beijing's violations of human rights should be countered by financial manoeuvres that hit its officials where it hurts.

He said he was a "little slow" in coming around to the belief that China's abuses — and its arbitrary detention on Canadians Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor — must be met with some sort of response beyond diplomacy.

"It's a colossal bully play by an emergent power and there's only one way to deal with a bully," McKay said of China's move to charge the two Canadians.

While China will be angered by any sanctions — China's ambassador to Canada has promised "very firm countermeasures" if Ottawa goes that route — McKay said Canada must take a stand in the face of "warrior diplomacy nonsense."

"I think you have to anticipate blowback. We have our vulnerabilities," he said. "But you either start drawing lines in the sand or you just keep getting trampled.

"I think the sooner that we recognize that we are in a form of asymmetrical conflict, warfare, with the government of China, the more we're able to strategically deal with it."

He said Canada and its Western allies should present a united front against China and adopt a NATO-like approach so that aggressive posturing by Beijing is met with a policy of "an attack on one is an attack on all.""

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