Canadian leader Mark Carney met China’s Xi Jinping in Beijing this week as Canada sought to re-establish ties with China after nearly a decade of stalled relations, according to an Associated Press report published Friday.
The meetings took place against a background in which Donald Trump’s approach to international relations — including statements and policies affecting Canada — remained in view, even though Trump was not part of the Beijing talks, the AP said.
Carney’s trip was also framed in terms of “strategic autonomy,” a concept described in the report as reflecting a need for additional pillars beyond the United States, given recent speed bumps in the Washington-Ottawa relationship. The report said Carney acknowledged differences in culture and “ways of life,” including when asked about China’s approach to human rights.
In Beijing, Carney said his government was focused on building an economy less reliant on the United States during what he called “a time of global trade disruption.” The AP report also said Carney met with several leading Chinese companies and left Beijing on Saturday.
At an outdoor news conference, Carney said relations between Ottawa and Washington were “much more multifaceted” than they were with Beijing, while also adding: “But yes, the way our relationship has progressed in recent months with China, it is more predictable.” The AP report said it was unclear whether Carney meant more predictable than before with China or more predictable than Canada’s relationship with the United States, noting that the reporter’s question was about the latter.
The AP report said concrete results emerged from the visit. It said Canada agreed to cut its 100% tariff on Chinese electric cars in return for lower tariffs on Canadian farm products, including an initial annual cap of 49,000 vehicles at a 6.1% tariff rate that would grow to about 70,000 over five years. The report also said China would reduce its total tariff on canola seeds from 84% to about 15%, while adding that the Chinese side was less specific about what came out of the meetings.
Analysts cited by the AP described the outcomes as mutually beneficial, and politically astute, while Carney characterized the agreements as preliminary. Nelson Wiseman, a professor emeritus of political science at the University of Toronto, said, “China is succeeding in driving a small wedge between Canada and the U.S.”
The report said China also has reasons to watch the relationship domestically within Canada, citing nearly 2 million Canadian citizens of Chinese descent as of 2021, and describing Vancouver as heavily inflected with Chinese culture. It also said China has increasingly styled itself as a counterbalance to American “hegemony,” describing that effort as accelerated alongside rising influence and soft-power initiatives such as the Belt and Road Initiative.
Xinhua, in a commentary cited by the AP, said ties with Canada were important “in a time of heightened uncertainty,” and pointed to “economic fragmentation, geopolitical tensions and resurgent protectionism.” In the AP’s account of Xi’s remarks after meeting Carney, Xi said, “It can be said … that our meeting last year opened a new chapter in turning China–Canada relations toward improvement.”
Robert Bothwell, a professor of Canadian history and international relations at the University of Toronto, told the AP he believed the Chinese wanted the opposite outcome in Canada to what Trump wanted, describing it as “a coherent country with a functioning economy” and adding that it would be “friendlier to China.” Bothwell said, “Trump wants the opposite — a fragmented satellite that is easier to bully and extort from.”
The AP report said Trump did, however, commend Carney for making a deal with Beijing, quoting Trump as saying: “That’s what he should be doing and it’s a good thing for him to sign a trade deal. If you can get a deal with China, you should do that.” The AP report said the long-term impact of Carney’s visit remained unclear, given Trump’s past tendency to switch gears quickly, but described the near-term outcome as strengthening China’s relationship with North America.