Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney is seeking to reset relations with China amid global tensions and US tariffs.
Published January 16, 2026
Facing new global challenges, the leaders of China and Canada have pledged to improve their long-standing troubled relations.
President Xi Jinping told visiting Prime Minister Mark Carney on Friday that the two countries will continue to strive to improve relations, noting that talks have been underway to restore and restart cooperation since the two countries held their first meeting on the sidelines of a regional economic conference in South Korea in October.
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“Last year’s talks can be said to have opened a new chapter towards improving China-Canada relations,” the Chinese leader said.
Carney, the first Canadian prime minister to visit China in eight years, said improving relations would help improve a global governance system that is “under great strain.”
“Together, we can build on the best of our old relationship and build a new one that adapts to the realities of the new world,” Carney said in a speech with Xi at the Great Hall of the People.
Engagement and cooperation will be the “foundation of our new strategic partnership,” he said.
“Agriculture, energy, finance, those are the areas where we can make the most immediate progress.”
The reference to the new reality largely reflects US President Donald Trump’s so-called “America First” approach.
The tariffs he imposed have hurt the economies of both Canada and China. Mr. Carney, who met with several of China’s leading companies in Beijing, said ahead of his visit that the government is focused on building an economy that is less dependent on the United States during what he called an “era of global trade turmoil.”
There was no announcement regarding tariffs with Canada, which has been a stalemate in relations between China and Canada.
Canada followed the United States in imposing 100% tariffs on Chinese EVs and 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum under former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
China responded by imposing 100% tariffs on Canadian canola oil and meal and 25% tariffs on pork and seafood. Last August, it imposed a 75.8% tariff on canola seeds. Industry groups said the import tax effectively shut down the Chinese market for Canadian canola.
China is counting on President Trump’s pressure tactics on allies such as Canada to pursue a foreign policy less aligned with the United States.
President Trump has suggested several times that Canada could become the 51st state in the United States.
