Canada PM Seeks Better Ties With China 01/12 06:24

   

   BEIJING (AP) -- A leader of the Canadian government is visiting China this 
week for the first time in nearly a decade, a bid to rebuild his country's 
fractured relations with the world's second-largest economy -- and reduce 
Canada's dependence on the United States, its neighbor and until recently one 
of its most supportive and unswerving allies.

   The push by Prime Minster Mark Carney, who arrives Wednesday, is part of a 
major rethink as ties sour with the United States -- the world's No. 1 economy 
and long the largest trading partner for Canada by far.

   Carney aims to double Canada's non-U.S. exports in the next decade in the 
face of President Donald Trump's tariffs and the American leader's musing that 
Canada could become "the 51st state."

   "At a time of global trade disruption, Canada is focused on building a more 
competitive, sustainable, and independent economy," Carney said in a news 
release announcing his China visit. "We're forging new partnerships around the 
world to transform our economy from one that has been reliant on a single trade 
partner."

   He will be in China until Saturday, then visit Qatar before attending the 
annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Switzerland next week.

   Trump's tariffs have pushed both Canada and China to look for opportunities 
to strengthen international cooperation, said Zhu Feng, the dean of the School 
of International Studies at China's Nanjing University.

   "Carney's visit does reflect the new space for further development in 
China-Canadian relations under the current U.S. trade protectionism," he said. 
But he cautioned against overestimating the importance of the visit, noting 
that Canada remains a U.S. ally. The two North American nations also share a 
deep cultural heritage and a common geography.

   New leaders have pivoted toward China

   Carney has been in office less than a year, succeeding Justin Trudeau, who 
was prime minister for nearly a decade. He is not the first new leader of a 
country to try to repair relations with China.

   Australian Premier Anthony Albanese has reset ties since his Labor Party 
came to power in 2022. Relations had deteriorated under the previous 
conservative government, leading to Chinese trade restrictions on wine, beef, 
coal and other Australian exports. Unwinding those restrictions took about 18 
months, culminating with the lifting of a Chinese ban on Australian lobsters in 
late 2024.

   British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has sought to repair ties with China 
since his Labour Party ousted the Conservatives in 2024. He is reportedly 
planning a visit to China, though the government has not confirmed that.

   The two governments have differences, with Starmer raising the case of 
former Hong Kong media magnate Jimmy Lai, a British citizen, in talks with 
Chinese leader Xi Jinping in late 2024 in Brazil.

   Trump, who has said he will come to China in April, has indicated he wants a 
smooth relationship with China, though he also launched a tit-for-tat trade 
war, with tariffs rising to more than 100% before he backed down.

   Bumpy relations, with Washington in the middle

   In Canada, Trump's threats have raised questions about the country's 
longstanding relationship with its much more powerful neighbor. Those close 
ties have also been the source of much of Canada's friction with China in 
recent years.

   It was Canada's detention of a Chinese telecommunications executive at the 
request of the U.S. that started the deterioration of relations in late 2018. 
The U.S. wanted the Huawei Technologies Co. executive, Meng Wenzhou, to be 
extradited to face American charges.

   China retaliated by arresting two Canadians, Michael Kovrig and Michael 
Spavor, on spying charges. While they were imprisoned, Meng was under house 
arrest in Vancouver, a Canadian city home to a sizable Chinese population. All 
three were released under a deal reached in 2021.

   More recently, Canada followed the U.S. in imposing a 100% tariff on 
electric vehicles and a 25% tariff on steel and aluminum from China.

   China, which is Canada's second-largest trading partner after the U.S., has 
hit back with tariffs on Canadian exports including canola, seafood and pork. 
It has indicated it would remove some of the tariffs if Canada were to drop the 
100% charge on EVs.

   An editorial in China's state-run Global Times newspaper welcomed Carney's 
visit as a new starting point and called on Canada to lift "unreasonable tariff 
restrictions" and advance more pragmatic cooperation.

   Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said Monday that China looks 
forward to Carney's visit as an opportunity to "consolidate the momentum of 
improvement in China-Canada relations."

   Canada is also repairing ties with India

   Carney met Xi in late October in South Korea, where both were attending the 
annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit.

   He has also tried to mend ties with India, where relations deteriorated in 
2024 after the Trudeau government accused India of being involved in the 2023 
killing of a Sikh activist in Canada. The fallout led to tit-for-tat expulsions 
of senior diplomats, disruption of visa services, reduced consular staffing and 
a freeze on trade talks.

   A cautious thaw began last June. Since then, both sides have restored some 
consular services and resumed diplomatic contacts. In November, Canadian 
Foreign Minister Anita Anand said the two countries would move quickly to 
advance a trade deal, noting the government's new foreign policy in response to 
Trump's trade war.

   Carney is also expected to visit India later this year.