Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on Friday welcomed a new “strategic partnership” with China during a meeting with Xi Jinping, as the U.S. ally took steps to normalize relations with Beijing amid historic tensions with Donald Trump.
Canada will ease tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles and expects China to significantly reduce barriers and tariffs on Canadian canola seeds later this year, Ottawa said in a statement after the meeting—a key step to ease long-standing trade tensions.
Carney is the first Canadian prime minister to visit China since 2017, a year before relations between the two countries deteriorated following Canada’s arrest of a Huawei executive at the U.S. request, and Beijing’s subsequent detention of two Canadian citizens.
This week’s visit highlights Ottawa’s new objective: to strengthen its economic ties with its second-largest trading partner, after a year during which Trump escalated trade and political tensions with Canada, imposed broad tariffs, and even publicly floated the idea of making Canada the 51st U.S. state.
The agreement could also bring more Chinese investment to Canada, strategically close to the U.S. border.
Carney appeared to acknowledge that this pivot toward Beijing was a consequence of Trump’s tariffs, which have pushed one of Washington’s key allies toward its largest rival.
He told reporters that Canada’s relationship with China has been more “predictable” in recent months and described his discussions with Beijing as “realistic and respectful.”
He also clarified that Ottawa does not agree with Beijing on everything, noting that in talks with Xi he outlined Canada’s boundaries, including human rights, election interference concerns, and the need for guarantees.
Observers believe Carney’s visit could serve as an example for other countries worldwide that are also feeling the effects of Washington’s tariffs.
