Latest news with #CanadaChinaRelations
CTV News
4 days ago
- Business
- CTV News
Carney agrees to ‘regularize' communication between Canada and China
Prime Minister Mark Carney arrives to a caucus meeting on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Wednesday, June 4, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick In a notable move amid recent diplomatic and trade tensions, Prime Minister Mark Carney has agreed to 'regularize channels of communication between Canada and China' after having a conversation with a top Chinese official on Thursday. According to a readout from the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) released late Thursday, Carney and Chinese Premier Li Qiang also agreed to work together to address the fentanyl crisis and discussed trade between the two countries. 'Prime Minister Carney took the opportunity to raise trade irritants affecting agriculture and agri-food products, including canola and seafood, as well as other issues, with Premier Li,' the readout says. 'They welcomed their trade ministers' meeting this week, during which Canada and China agreed to convene the Joint Economic and Trade Commission (JETC) at an early date to address outstanding trade issues,' the statement goes on to say. The PMO has confirmed to CTV News this was Carney's first conversation with Chinese leadership since becoming prime minister. Carney's outreach to China comes as he seeks to strengthen economic ties with other large economies like China and India in the face of U.S. President Donald Trump's global trade war. Asked directly while speaking to reporters on Parliament Hill on Friday on whether he trusts China, Carney did not give an explicit answer. 'This is the start of a process of recalibrating the relationship with China. It's very important that we reopen dialog with Chinese authorities for several reasons,' Carney said, while highlighting China as Canada's 'second largest trading partner.' Previously, during the federal election earlier this year, Carney called China one of the largest threats when it comes to foreign interference in Canada and emerging threats in the Arctic. 'China willing to work with Canada:' Li In an interview with CTV Question Period back in May, China's Ambassador to Canada Wang Di expressed China's desire to meet with the Carney government 'as soon as possible' to discuss the latest trade issues between the two countries. Premier Li released a statement on Friday, saying he spoke with Carney at the prime minister's request. 'China is willing to work with Canada, in the spirit of looking to the future, to promote the steady improvement of bilateral relations, bring them onto a track of sound and steady development, and strive for win-win cooperation,' Li said. Last October – under the government of former prime minister Justin Trudeau – Canada followed the U.S. lead and imposed a 100 per cent tariff on Chinese electric vehicles (EVs), accusing Beijing of 'distorting global trade' by exporting EVs at 'unfairly low prices.' Canada also hit China with a 25 per cent tariff on Chinese steel and aluminum. Following its own so-called anti-discrimination investigation, China retaliated by imposing a 100 per cent tariff on Canadian canola oil and canola meal, along with several other tariffs on Canadian agricultural products. In 2024, Canada's total canola exports to China were valued at almost $5 billion. China is also Canada's second-largest seafood market. Premiers have been putting pressure on Carney to improve trade relations with China and get those tariffs lifted. At the First Ministers' Meeting in Saskatoon on Monday, Carney said the federal government planned to work urgently to remove Chinese tariffs on impacted Canadian agriculture and seafood products. 'The Canadian government is engaging with its Chinese counterparts at the ministerial level and we'll continue those discussions,' Carney told reporters on Monday. The relationship between Canada and China still has not recovered since 2018 after Canada arrested Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou on behalf of the United States over bank fraud charges. Days later, China separately detained Canadians Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor over allegations of espionage – accusations they denied. Both men were eventually released after spending more than 1,000 days in a Chinese prison, not long after Meng herself was released from house arrest. China's ambassador to Canada – who assumed his role in June 2024 – acknowledged those past tensions when speaking to CTV Question Period last month but insisted China is 'ready to move on and look ahead.' 'We are ready to work together with Canada to bring our relationship back onto the right track,' Wang said.
CTV News
4 days ago
- Business
- CTV News
Carney agrees to ‘regularize' communication between Canada and China
Prime Minister Mark Carney arrives to a caucus meeting on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Wednesday, June 4, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick In a notable move amid recent diplomatic and trade tensions, Prime Minister Mark Carney has agreed to 'regularize channels of communication between Canada and China' after having a conversation with a top Chinese official on Thursday. According to a readout from the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) released late Thursday, Carney and Chinese Premier Li Qiang also agreed to work together to address the fentanyl crisis and discussed trade between the two countries. 'Prime Minister Carney took the opportunity to raise trade irritants affecting agriculture and agri-food products, including canola and seafood, as well as other issues, with Premier Li,' the readout says. 'They welcomed their trade ministers' meeting this week, during which Canada and China agreed to convene the Joint Economic and Trade Commission (JETC) at an early date to address outstanding trade issues,' the statement goes on to say. The PMO has confirmed to CTV News this was Carney's first conversation with Premier Li since becoming prime minister. In an interview with CTV Question Period back in May, China's Ambassador to Canada Wang Di expressed China's desire to meet with the Carney government 'as soon as possible' to discuss the latest trade issues between the two countries. Last October – under the government of former prime minister Justin Trudeau – Canada followed the U.S. lead and imposed a 100 per cent tariff on Chinese electric vehicles (EVs), accusing Beijing of 'distorting global trade' by exporting EVs at 'unfairly low prices.' Canada also hit China with a 25 per cent tariff on Chinese steel and aluminum. Following its own so-called anti-discrimination investigation, China retaliated by imposing a 100 per cent tariff on Canadian canola oil and canola meal, along with several other tariffs on Canadian agricultural products. In 2024, Canada's total canola exports to China were valued at almost $5 billion. China is also Canada's second-largest seafood market. Premiers have been putting pressure on Carney to improve trade relations with China and get those tariffs lifted. At the First Ministers' Meeting in Saskatoon on Monday, Carney said the federal government planned to work urgently to remove Chinese tariffs on impacted Canadian agriculture and seafood products. 'The Canadian government is engaging with its Chinese counterparts at the ministerial level and we'll continue those discussions,' Carney told reporters on Monday. The relationship between Canada and China still has not recovered since 2018 after Canada arrested Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou on behalf of the United States over bank fraud charges. Days later, China separately detained Canadians Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor over allegations of espionage – accusations they denied. Both men were eventually released after spending more than 1,000 days in a Chinese prison, not long after Meng herself was released from house arrest. China's ambassador to Canada – who assumed his role in June 2024 – acknowledged those past tensions when speaking to CTV Question Period last month but insisted China is 'ready to move on and look ahead.' 'We are ready to work together with Canada to bring our relationship back onto the right track,' Wang said.
Arab News
4 days ago
- Business
- Arab News
Canada and China agree to ‘regularize communications'
MONTREAL: Canada and China have agreed to regularize channels of communication, the office of Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said Thursday, after a period of strained diplomatic relations between the two countries. 'Mark Carney, spoke with the Premier of China, Li Qiang. The leaders exchanged views on bilateral relations, including the importance of engagement, and agreed to regularize channels of communication between Canada and China,' it said in a statement. They also discussed trade and 'committed their governments to working together to address the fentanyl crisis.' Ties between Beijing and Ottawa have been tense in recent years following the arrest of a senior Chinese telecom executive on a US warrant in 2018. Li told Carney that 'in recent years, China-Canada relations have faced unnecessary disturbances and encountered serious difficulties,' Chinese state news agency Xinhua reported. He added that China is 'willing to work with Canada to jointly uphold multilateralism and free trade' in the face of growing unilateralism and protectionism, Xinhua reported, noting that the call came at Carney's request. Both countries have been targeted by US President Donald Trump's tariff hikes and have condemned them.
Bloomberg
4 days ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
Carney, Li Hold Talks on Fentanyl, Trade in Sign of Warming Ties
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney spoke with Chinese Premier Li Qiang on Thursday in a sign that the tense relationship between the two nations might be improving. The two covered a range of topics including trade, fentanyl and efforts to make communication between the two countries more regular, the Canadian government said in a statement. Canada brought up trade concerns that are impacting agricultural exports, particularly canola and seafood.
Globe and Mail
4 days ago
- Business
- Globe and Mail
Carney agrees to high-level talks with Beijing on resolving Canada-China trade war
Prime Minister Mark Carney and his Chinese counterpart agreed Thursday to 'regularize channels of communication' in Canada's estranged relationship with China and hold talks to resolve a trade war affecting billions of dollars of trade between the two countries. Mr. Carney and Chinese Premier Li Qiang also agreed to further cooperate on fighting illegal production of the opioid fentanyl. It was Mr. Carney's first conversation with Chinese leadership since becoming Prime Minister, his office said. They agreed to convene deputy-minister level talks to try to tackle a damaging trade war. Canada and China are locked in this conflict that was triggered by Ottawa's decision in 2024 to follow the Biden administration in imposing 100-per-cent tariffs on Chinese-made electric vehicles. Canada also enacted a 25-per-cent tariff on Chinese steel and aluminum. China responded in 2025 with retaliatory tariffs on Canadian canola oil and meal, peas and seafood. The conflict is hurting Western Canadian farmers as well as seafood producers in Atlantic Canada and British Columbia. The bilateral relationship with China has not yet recovered from a rupture more than six years ago when Canada arrested a Chinese tech executive at the request of the U.S. government and Beijing retaliated by jailing two Canadians for nearly three years in a move one cabinet minister called 'hostage diplomacy.' Mr. Carney is facing pressure from Canadian premiers to get the Chinese tariffs lifted, and Canada wants China's help in ensuring precursor chemicals used in the illegal production of the opioid fentanyl do not reach this country. 'The leaders exchanged views on bilateral relations, including the importance of engagement, and agreed to regularize channels of communication between Canada and China,' the Prime Minister's Office said in a readout released Thursday. It said the two countries have agreed to convene the Joint Economic and Trade Commission (JETC), a deputy-minister level consultation mechanism, at an early date 'to address outstanding trade issues.' The JETC exists to promote trade between Canada and China. 'Prime Minister Carney took the opportunity to raise trade irritants affecting agriculture and agri-food products, including canola and seafood, as well as other issues, with Premier Li,' the PMO said. 'The leaders took note of recent bilateral engagement on fentanyl and other opioids, and committed their governments to working together to address the fentanyl crisis.' Efforts to repair relations with China, Canada's second largest export market, come as the United States is seeking help from allies including Canada in its rising competition with China. Last month, U.S. State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce told a media briefing in Washington that the U.S. government also wants Ottawa's help in 'countering the Chinese Communist Party influence in our hemisphere.' In an interview with The Globe and Mail this week, China's ambassador to Canada Wang Di said Canada's 100-per-cent tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles are preventing the sort of investment here that has led to new auto-sector factories and jobs in Europe and Asia, and warned that the Trump administration's call for Ottawa to join forces against Beijing represents an outdated 'Cold War mentality.' Canadian and American officials said the steep tariffs on Chinese EVs were necessary to protect domestic auto sectors from these lower-priced vehicles that were being overproduced and flooding global markets, alleging Beijing subsidizes its EV makers. Canada's auto sector is heavily dependent on its American counterpart. Since the EV tariffs on China, however, Mr. Trump has said he doesn't want Canada making cars for his country and wants auto production moved inside U.S. territory. Mr. Wang, the Chinese ambassador to Canada, said Tuesday that Chinese EV makers were previously interested in investing in Canada but the 100-per-cent tariffs had discouraged them from doing so. 'Let's find a solution quickly to remove these tariffs so that we can focus more on how we can strengthen our co-operation together,' he told The Globe. 'China's EV industry has the world-leading technology. And Canada has a very good foundation in terms of automaking industry,' he said. 'That means we have great complementarities in this area.' He noted Chinese battery maker Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd. is partnering with Ford Motor Co. to build a US$3.5-billion EV battery plant in Michigan, and Spanish vehicle maker Ebro-EV Motors and China's Chery Automobile have begun vehicle production in a joint venture in Barcelona. Geely Auto, another Chinese producer, is also looking at setting up a factory in Spain to serve the European market, he said, while BYD has set up a plant in Thailand. The European Union, which also imposed tariffs on Chinese EVs, has been in negotiations with Beijing for months on resolving its trade war with China. China's ambassador has made diplomatic inroads with one of the provinces hurt by Beijing's retaliatory tariffs. Mr. Wang said he met with Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe and members of his cabinet the week of May 12. During a press conference with Mr. Carney following the Prime Minister's meeting with Canadian premiers on June 2, Mr. Moe told reporters he wants this country to secure a broader trading relationship with Beijing.
