Canada’s Mark Carney seeks reset on pivotal trip to China

Canada’s Mark Carney seeks reset on pivotal trip to China Canadian leader’s visit comes after nearly a decade of strained ties between Ottawa and Beijing. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has arrived in China for a visit that comes at a pivotal moment in relations between the two countries. Carney, the first Canadian leader to visit China since 2017, is set to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Chinese Premier Li Qiang. Recommended Stories list of 4 items list 1 of 4 Ukraine’s former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko accused of bribery: Report list 2 of 4 Child rights org says Google undermines parental control of child accounts list 3 of 4 Why is the US Fed chair criminal probe causing global alarm? list 4 of 4 French government survives no-confidence votes Relations between Canada and China plunged into a deep freeze after Canadian authorities arrested a key official of Chinese telecommunications firm Huawei as she was transitioning through the Vancouver international airport in December 2018. China retaliated against the arrest of Meng Wanzhou, which was carried out at the request of authorities in the United States, by detaining two Canadians. Relations have continued to face challenges. In 2024, Ottawa, following a line set by Washington, slapped Chinese electric vehicles with 100 percent tariffs, prompting Beijing to impose tariffs on certain Canadian agricultural goods, including canola . Ottawa has also accused China of political interference. Against that backdrop, Carney’s visit “marks a recalibration and change in tone and signals Canada’s desire to improve relations”, said Vina Nadjibulla, vice president of research and strategy at the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada. “This is probably Prime Minister Carney’s second-most challenging trip after his first visit to the White House,” Nadjibulla told Al Jazeera. Carney is keen to diversify the Canadian economy and reduce its dependence on the US, the destination for nearly 80 percent of Canadian exports. While Canada has historically been among the US’s closest allies, the relationship has gone south since Donald Trump’s return to the White House. Trump has slapped Canada with a 35 percent across-the-board tariff and separate duties on steel, aluminium and lumber, while repeatedly threatening to make the country the 51st US state. Carney has travelled extensively, including to the European Union and the Gulf - he heads to Qatar after Beijing - to find new markets and investors for the economy. The Canadian leader has said he wants to double Canada’s non-US trade in the next decade. In a first step towards a thaw with China, Carney met Xi in South Korea during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit in October. “The Prime Minister is being pragmatic, and his trip will focus on specific economic deals - selling Canadian energy and agriculture products,” Nadjibulla said, adding that she did not expect to see the full lifting of tariffs between the sides. The trip, as a review of the trade agreement between the US, Mexico and Canada, is under way. The USMCA has allowed Canadian and Mexican...

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