Canada is moving more towards China… and announces the end of the “close economic relationship” with Washington

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has taken an important step towards revitalizing his country’s relations with China and diversifying its trade away from the United States, at a time when Beijing is increasingly seeking to win over US allies who are frustrated with “American protectionism.”

In a meeting with Carney last Friday in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, Chinese leader Xi Jinping praised the recent shift in relations with the United States’ northern neighbor, and both sides pointed to opportunities to boost trade as they seek to overcome years of tensions.

Hosting Carney is part of a courtship campaign by China, which seeks to present itself as a stabilizing force and supporter of an international system that is witnessing a state of deep uncertainty from Venezuela to Iran. As trade barriers rise globally, Beijing has shown particular determination to keep open the export markets on which its economy depends.

Carney – a former negotiator at Goldman Sachs and a central banker in Canada and the United Kingdom – stressed that the long-term close economic relationship between his country and the United States has now ended with US President Donald Trump imposing tariffs and other obstacles. Carney said that this requires Canada to build deeper relationships with other markets.

Carney told the Chinese president during the recent visit: “Together we can build on the best of what this relationship was in the past to create a new relationship that adapts to the new global reality.”

However, trade with China will not be a substitute for the United States as Canada’s main source of growth, and although Beijing is already Canada’s second largest trading partner, with bilateral trade reaching about $80 billion over the past 12 months, this number pales in comparison to the volume of trade between the United States and Canada, which reached about $1 trillion during the same period.

Beijing and Ottawa appear ready to stabilize relations after years of tensions dating back to 2018, when Canada, upon an extradition request from the United States, arrested a senior Huawei executive. China also detained two Canadians for nearly three years, until 2021, when the United States allowed Huawei’s chief financial officer, Meng Wanzhou, to return to her homeland.

Carney is one of the US allies who recently visited China, following the visits of French President Emmanuel Macron in December 2025, and South Korean President Lee Jae-myung earlier this month. Beijing has used every opportunity to promote its vision of “a world less dominated by Washington.” However, its initiatives still face deep skepticism in the West, partly due to China’s support for Russia and North Korea.

Before Carney’s trip, senior Canadian officials tried to temper expectations about its results. Officials said that the two countries were unlikely to reach an agreement to resolve a trade dispute related to imposing heavy tariffs on Canadian agricultural products and Chinese-made electric cars. The Chinese ambassador to Canada said that Beijing would abandon a 76% tariff on canola seeds, in exchange for Canada abandoning a 100% tariff on Chinese electric cars.

Carney’s office said the two sides signed memorandums of understanding covering energy, fighting crime, and other issues, providing “the basis for a new strategic partnership.”

China’s huge trade surplus with many Western countries has hampered its efforts to lure it away from the United States. Beijing said its global trade surplus hit a record of about $1.2 trillion last year. Exports to Canada rose by just over 3% last year, while China’s imports of Canadian goods fell by more than 10%, according to official Chinese data. About the Wall Street Journal

• China seeks to present itself as a stabilizing force and a supporter of the international system that is witnessing a state of deep uncertainty, from Venezuela to Iran.