Canada’s Carney to visit China, as Trump tariffs hurt US ties

Prime Minister Mark Carney will make an official visit to China next week as his government tries to rebuild relations with the Asian superpower and reduce Canada’s economic reliance on the US.

Carney is set to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping during the visit and will have discussions on trade, energy, agriculture and international security, his office said Wednesday.

It will be the first trip to China by a Canadian prime minister in nearly a decade, after a diplomatic row was sparked by Canada’s 2018 arrest of Huawei Technologies executive Meng Wanzhou on a US extradition warrant.

Shortly after, China detained two Canadians, Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, and held them until a deal to release Meng was reached with US prosecutors in 2021.

More recently, Canada and China have slapped tariffs on each other’s exports. In 2024, Canada hiked import taxes on Chinese electric vehicles, steel and aluminium, in part to align its trade policies with the US. China retaliated by hitting Canadian agricultural products with new duties, including on canola, a key crop that is also known as rapeseed.

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Hero’s welcome for Meng Wanzhou at Huawei offices in China after extradition battle and quarantine

Hero’s welcome for Meng Wanzhou at Huawei offices in China after extradition battle and quarantine

Carney took further measures to curb steel shipments from China and other nations last year after the White House put a 50 per cent tax on foreign steel.