By Maria Cheng
BEIJING, Jan 15 (Reuters) – China praised on Thursday a visit to Beijing this week by Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, calling it “pivotal” in work to recalibrate ties following months of intense re-engagement.
The remarks by China’s top diplomat Wang Yi were made in a meeting with Canadian counterpart Anita Anand, who is part of Carney’s delegation on the first visit by a Canadian prime minister since 2017.
“This marks the Canadian prime minister’s first visit to China in eight years, representing a pivotal and landmark moment for our bilateral relations,” Wang said.
China is willing to deepen cooperation with Canada while eliminating “interference”, Wang added, but stopped short of specifying the source of the interference.
In turn, Anand praised the behind-the-scenes work in organising Carney’s approaching meetings with China’s leaders to “ensure those meetings are a success”, the Canadian prime minister’s office said in a statement.
WARMING TIES
Since a positive encounter between Carney and Chinese leader Xi Jinping in South Korea last year, the countries have evinced a common desire to turn the page on periods of tension that have roiled ties since 2017.
The most recent strain was after former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government set tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles in 2024, following similar U.S. curbs.
China retaliated last March with tariffs on more than $2.6 billion of Canadian farm and food products, such as canola oil and meal, leading to a slump of 10.4% in Chinese imports of Canadian goods in 2025, shown in customs data on Wednesday.
Re-engagement with China has also been fuelled by a push to diversify export markets after U.S. President Donald Trump imposed tariffs on Canada last year and suggested the longtime U.S. ally could become his country’s 51st state.
Efforts to strike up new dialogue gathered pace since Carney took the helm last year, with top officials of both sides setting up meetings and telephone calls that paved the way for the leaders’ October meeting in South Korea.
CHIEF CAUSE OF TENSION
Chinese state media had blamed the Trudeau government’s policies to contain China in lock step with the United States as the chief cause of tension.
“It was pretty tough watching that previous administration,” said Jacob Cooke, chief executive of Beijing-based WPIC Marketing + Technologies, a Canadian company what worked with garment firms Arcteryx and Lululemon on their China launch.
“We know Carney has got a lot of business experience, and he’s been to China many times,” Cooke told Reuters. “So from the business community’s perspective, we’re very optimistic, we’re confident.”
Since arriving in Beijing on Wednesday, Carney has met senior executives of Chinese business groups such as EV battery giant Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL) and China National Petroleum Corp.
He has also met officials of smart wind turbine maker Envision Energy, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, investment firm Primavera Capital Group and e-commerce titan Alibaba.
Carney is set to meet Premier Li Qiang later on Thursday and Xi on Friday.
(Reporting by Maria Cheng; Additional reporting by Joe Cash in Beijing; Writing by Ryan Woo; Editing by Jacqueline Wong and Clarence Fernandez)
Disclaimer: This report is auto generated from the Reuters news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.