Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney yesterday hailed his nation’s improving ties with China, as well as the leadership of Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), declaring that their nations were charting a new course in cooperation amid global division and disorder.
The four-day visit to China was the first by a Canadian prime minister since 2017, following up on Carney’s positive meeting with Xi in South Korea in October. The two are set to meet again today.
“We’re heartened by the leadership of President Xi Jinping and the speed with which our relationship has progressed,” Carney told Chinese National People’s Congress Standing Committee Chairman Zhao Leji (趙樂際) in a meeting in Beijing.
Photo: Reuters
“It sets the stage for these important discussions on a wide range of issues where we can be strategic partners from energy to agriculture, to people-to-people ties, multilateralism, to issues on security,” he said.
Carney’s optimism follows months of intense re-engagement by both countries aimed at recalibrating ties that had soured under former Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau.
The efforts have also been fueled by a push to diversify export markets after US President Donald Trump imposed tariffs on Canada last year and suggested the longtime US ally could become his country’s 51st state.
“Our teams have worked hard, addressing trade irritants and creating platforms for new opportunities,” Carney told Chinese Premier Li Qiang (李強) in a separate meeting. “I believe that together, we are bringing this relationship back toward where it should be.”
Periods of tension in the past decade have roiled ties, most recently after Trudeau’s government imposed tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles (EVs) in 2024, following similar US curbs.
China retaliated in March last year with tariffs on more than US$2.6 billion of Canadian farm and food products, such as canola oil and meal, leading to a slump of 10.4 percent in Chinese imports of Canadian goods last year, customs data released on Wednesday showed.
Efforts to strike up new dialogue gathered pace after Carney took the helm last year, with top officials of both sides setting up meetings and telephone calls that resulted in the leaders’ meeting in South Korea.
Canada and China have yet to directly address the issue of the EV and canola tariffs in public.
In a trade and economic road map signed yesterday, Ottawa welcomes Chinese investments in energy, agriculture and consumer products, while Beijing looks forward to Canada’s investment in services, new materials, aerospace and advanced manufacturing, among other fields.
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