Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said relations between Canada and China are improving rapidly, praising Chinese President Xi Jinping’s leadership and arguing the two countries can become strategic partners despite rising global instability.
Carney made the remarks during a meeting in Beijing with Zhao Leji, China’s top legislator, as part of a four-day trip — the first visit to China by a Canadian prime minister since 2017. Carney and Xi are expected to meet on Friday.
He said progress in recent months has opened the door to broader cooperation in areas including energy, agriculture, people-to-people ties, multilateral coordination, and security. Carney also told Chinese Premier Li Qiang that both sides have been working to ease trade friction and create new economic opportunities.
The push to rebuild ties follows years of strained relations, including tensions over Canada’s tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles in 2024, which Ottawa argued were needed to counter what it described as unfair Chinese state subsidies. China later retaliated with tariffs on billions of dollars’ worth of Canadian farm and food products, contributing to a decline in Chinese imports of Canadian goods in 2025, according to customs data cited in the report.
Carney’s government has also sought to broaden Canada’s export markets after US President Donald Trump imposed tariffs on Canada and suggested the country could become America’s “51st state,” adding urgency to Ottawa’s diversification efforts.
During the visit, Canada and China signed a trade and economic roadmap committing both sides to keep communication channels open, including on agricultural trade issues. The agreement also referenced mutual investment interest across sectors such as energy, advanced manufacturing, aerospace, services and new materials.