Carney visiting China next week to talk trade, security

Prime Minister Mark Carney will travel to China next week, marking the first visit to the country by a Canadian prime minister since 2017.

The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said the trip from Jan. 13 to 17 will see Carney meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping to discuss trade, energy, agriculture and international security. 

In a statement, Carney said that the global disruption of trade has driven his government to transform Canada’s economy from “one that has been reliant on a single trade partner, to one that is stronger and more resilient to global shocks,” he said.

“We’re creating new partnerships in energy and trade, attracting massive new investment and securing more opportunities for Canadians.”

Carney met Xi on the margins of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Gyeongju, South Korea, in October, where he accepted the leader’s invitation for a visit.

After the trip to China, Carney will travel to Davos, Switzerland, where from Jan. 19 to 21 he will meet with business leaders at the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting.

The PMO said it “could not confirm other possible stops” Carney might make “at this point.”

Trade tensions with China

There are a number of outstanding trade irritants at play between Canada and China that will likely come up when the two leaders meet.

In 2024, Canada imposed 100 per cent tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles in lockstep with the United States, arguing the measure was required to protect Canada’s domestic automobile industry.

Ottawa has said Beijing is subsidizing its electric vehicle industry at a level that allows cheap Chinese EVs to flood international markets at an unfair competitive advantage.

In response, China imposed a 76 per cent tariff on Canadian canola seed imports and a 100 per cent tariff on canola oil, meal and peas. China also put a 25 per cent tariff on certain Canadian pork, fish and seafood products.

The Opposition Conservatives criticized the prime minister’s frequent international travel.

This latest trip is another opportunity for Carney to burn “thousands of litres of jet fuel to hobnob with his wealthy friends around the world while achieving nothing for Canadians,” a statement from Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre’s office sent to CBC News said.

“Mark Carney should stay home and focus on immediately reversing the destructive Liberal policies that are holding back our resources from reaching the world, slowing down our economy and sending millions of Canadians to food banks each year.”

Article source: https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/carney-to-visit-china-9.7036190?cmp=rss