Ottawa and Beijing are forging a new strategic partnership which will yield “historic” gains for both nations, Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney told China’s President Xi Jinping on Friday.
Carney made the comments in Beijing while on a visit to rebuild ties with its second-largest trading partner after the United States.
“It is important to start this new strategic partnership at a time of division,” Carney told Xi. He urged the nations focus on areas that can bring “historic gains” for both, such as agriculture, agri-food, energy, and finance.
“That is where I believe we can make immediate and sustained progress,” he added.
Xi welcomed Carney and his delegation to Beijing, saying Canada-China relations were on the mend after their last meeting at a summit in October.
“It can be said that our meeting last year opened a new chapter in turning China-Canada relations toward improvement,” Xi told Carney.
“The healthy and stable development of China-Canada relations serves the common interests of our two countries,” he said.
Canada and China edge closer amid Trump tariffs
Carney is the first Canadian prime minister to visit China since 2017.
Ties between the two nations had soured when Huawei’s Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou was arrested in Vancouver in 2018.
The tensions triggered retaliatory detentions, mutual tariffs and disputes over human rights and allegations of electoral interference.
Carney’s trip comes after months of diplomacy to resolve earlier tensions, amid Ottawa’s efforts to diversify trade amidtariffs from the US.
China, also hit by US tariffs, has been strengthening ties with the Group of Seven (G7) nations — traditionally in the sphere of US influence.
China has been strengthening its exports in markets other than the US. Beijing has been banking on trade to drive the economy amid a prolonged property slump and sluggish demand at home.
Edited by: Kieran Burke
