Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney accepted President Xi Jinping’s invitation to visit China, heralding a ‘turning point’ in the relationship between the two countries.
This invitation came after a 40-minute meeting between the two leaders on the sidelines of this week’s Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit. This summit is the first official summit between the Canadian prime minister and the Chinese president since 2017.
The two countries have had strained relations since a diplomatic row in 2018 and have been embroiled in a trade dispute since 2024.
But as trade tensions between Canada and the United States continue to escalate, Carney said Canada will strengthen its relationships with other major economies.
He announced his intention to double Canada’s exports outside the United States over the next 10 years in response to President Donald Trump’s punitive tariffs on Canadian goods and some key sectors.
This includes closer trade ties with the “big economies of Asia,” Carney said last week.
Speaking briefly with reporters after his meeting with President Xi on Monday, Carney said he believed Canada and China had reached a “turning point” in their relationship that would lead to positive developments for the Canadian economy.
“Distancing is not the way to solve problems or serve the people,” the prime minister said.
In his speech, President Xi said, “China is willing to work with Canada to return China-Canada relations to the right track, which is healthy, stable and sustainable, to the benefit of both countries.”
A release from Prime Minister Carney’s office after the meeting said the two leaders instructed officials from both countries to “move quickly to resolve outstanding trade issues and vexing issues.”
The trade dispute is escalating after Canada imposed a 100% tariff on Chinese electric vehicles (EVs) in October 2024, mirroring similar measures in the United States. Later that month, Canada imposed a 25% tariff on Chinese steel and aluminum.
China retaliated in March by imposing tariffs on several Canadian agricultural products, including a 76% tariff on Canadian canola seed imports and a 100% tariff on canola oil, meal and peas.
The move has hurt farmers in Western Canada, as China is the largest importer of Canadian canola seed.
Some western premiers, including Manitoba’s Wab Kinew and Saskatchewan’s Scott Moe, have since called on the federal government to lift tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles. Kinew said earlier this month that Canada is currently engaged in a “two-front trade war” with the United States and China, its two largest trading partners.
Separately, the United States imposed a 35% tariff on all Canadian products not included in the existing free trade agreement (FTA), a 50% tariff on steel and aluminum, and a 25% tariff on automobiles.
Last week, relations between the United States and Canada hit a new low after Trump suspended all trade talks over an anti-tariff ad run by Ontario Premier Doug Ford that included a speech on free trade by former U.S. President Ronald Reagan.
On Friday, President Trump said the two countries would not resume trade talks.
President Trump has threatened to increase tariffs on Canada by another 10%, but it is unclear when that will take effect.
Before the tariffs were imposed, Canada-China relations were already rocked by a diplomatic row, which resulted in Beijing detaining two Canadian citizens, Michael Spavor and Michael Kovring.
The two were accused of espionage by China and detained in 2018. Their arrests come days after Canada detained Meng Wanzhou, Huawei’s Chinese technology executive and chief financial officer, at the request of the United States.
All three were released in 2021 after the U.S. Justice Department denied an extradition request for Mr. Wanzhou on fraud charges.
China was also one of the countries likely to interfere in Canada’s 2019 and 2021 elections, which prompted a public inquiry into foreign interference in Canada. The study concluded that foreign attempts to interfere in recent elections were “troubling” but had “minimal impact.”
China has denied the allegations of involvement.
The Korea APEC meeting between Secretary Carney and Xi Jinping took place a day after the Chinese president met with Donald Trump for the first time in six years.
At that Thursday meeting, Xi Jinping and Trump agreed to roll back their country’s trade war. Although no formal agreement has been signed, the two have signaled they are close to a deal that would lower tariffs.
