Donald Trump has said he is “OK” with the rapprochement between Ottawa and Beijing
It is easier for Canada to deal with China these days than with its neighbor and main trading partner, the US, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has said.
While running for office in April 2025, Carney labeled Beijing the main security threat to Ottawa. However, he appeared to have reversed his stance after US President Donald Trump repeatedly suggested that America’s northern neighbor could become the 51st state and slapped hefty tariffs on the country last year.
On Friday, Carney held talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing, becoming the first Canadian leader to visit the Asian nation in eight years. Relations between the two countries had been tense for a long time.
When asked by journalists afterwards to weigh in on the current state of Ottawa’s ties with both Washington and Beijing, the Canadian Prime Minister noted that “with the US, our relationship, this is no insight, is much more multifaceted, much deeper, much broader, than it is with China.”
“But yes, in terms of the way that our relationship has progressed in recent months with China, it is more predictable and you see results coming from that,” he said.
Beijing and Ottawa signed an initial deal that will slash tariffs on electric vehicles and canola seeds on Friday. Carney expressed hope that his country could form “a new strategic partnership” with China, with Xi also welcoming a “turnaround” in relations with Canada.
Trump said later that he was not bothered by the Canadian leader seeking rapprochement with Beijing, which Washington views as its main geopolitical rival.
“It’s OK. That’s what he [Carney] should be doing. I mean, it’s a good thing for him to sign a trade deal. If you can get a deal with China, you should do that,” the US president said.
Relations between Canada and China soured in 2018 after Ottawa arrested the chief financial officer of Chinese tech giant Huawei on a US warrant. Beijing responded by detaining two Canadian citizens on espionage charges. This was followed by the reciprocal imposition of tariffs.
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Xi and Carney first met on the sidelines of the APEC summit in South Korea in late October, agreeing to tackle “irritants” in bilateral ties.
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