Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney has accepted an invitation from Chinese President Xi Jinping to visit China, a development that follows a 40-minute meeting between the two leaders at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) summit. This marks the first engagement of its kind between a Canadian prime minister and the Chinese president since 2017.
The relationship between Canada and China has been challenging due to a diplomatic conflict in 2018 and ongoing trade disputes that became more pronounced with the introduction of tariffs. Carney has indicated that Canada aims to bolster ties with significant global economies as trade tensions with the United States escalate. He has expressed an intention to double Canada’s non-US exports over the next decade in response to tariffs imposed by the Trump administration.
During his remarks after meeting with Xi, Carney suggested that the two countries may be at a “turning point” that could benefit the Canadian economy. Xi expressed a willingness to collaborate with Canada to restore relations to a more stable and beneficial state for both nations. The leaders directed their officials to expedite efforts to address pending trade issues.
Tensions in trade have grown further since Canada implemented a 100% tariff on Chinese electric vehicles in October 2024, paralleling similar actions by the US. Canada also imposed a 25% tariff on Chinese steel and aluminum, to which China responded by implementing tariffs on several Canadian agricultural exports, notably a significant levy on canola seeds and oil, impacting Canadian farmers.
Political leaders in western Canada have voiced concerns about the implications of these tariffs, highlighting the strain on trade relations due to concurrent disputes with both the US and China. Allegations of foreign interference in Canadian elections have added to the complexities of Canada-China relations, with a public inquiry concluding that such meddling had minimal impact, though China has denied any involvement.
Carney’s meeting occurred shortly after a meeting between Xi and Trump, where they discussed efforts to relieve tensions in their own trade relations, though no formal agreements were reached.
Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cx27pe8ekpdo?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss