Experts see pragmatism in Canada policy

With uncertainty surrounding US trade policy adding pressure on Ottawa to diversify, experts say Canada is beginning to reassess its China policy through a more pragmatic lens after years of strained relations.

"Canada and China have both demonstrated a willingness to move beyond recent challenges and improve relations for the long term," said Jeff Mahon, former deputy director of the China division at Global Affairs Canada.

Since the leaders' meeting in October in South Korea, bilateral engagement has included exchanges between China's international trade negotiator at the Ministry of Commerce and Canadian counterparts.

"Meetings between senior officials send an important signal that the two governments are working diligently to find a new consensus," he told China Daily.

Mahon said such interactions suggest both sides are testing the ground for pragmatic cooperation.

China is already an important trade partner for Canada, Mahon said, but future cooperation will require a more nuanced approach that accounts for domestic economic sensitivities on both sides.

"Expanding cooperation requires being realistic about constraints and thinking creatively about how the two countries complement each other," he said.

"Canada should open up investment for Chinese companies to channel Chinese capabilities to serve the local market," Mahon said. "Chinese investment into Canada would help solidify supply chain linkages and create win-win outcomes for both countries."

At the same time, he said Canada has opportunities to contribute more directly to China's domestic development goals. Canadian agricultural exports, he noted, already support China's food security.

"Joint ventures or joint research initiatives in food processing could complement commodity trade as a way for Canada to contribute to high-quality development in China," Mahon said.

Energy and climate cooperation could also provide a common ground. Mahon said Canadian liquefied natural gas exports could help reduce emissions in China, while Chinese renewable energy companies could play a role in building green supply chains in Canada.

Beyond official diplomacy, Mahon noted the importance of growing people-to-people exchanges in rebuilding trust. "Governments build the bridge, but it is the people and businesses that use it."

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney recently said Canada has "too many eggs in the American basket" and needs to diversify its economic relationships, including with China and India.

For future

Looking ahead, Mahon described 2026 as a decisive year for bilateral ties, noting expectations that Carney will visit China in the near future.

Carney's office said on Wednesday the prime minister ? ?will visit China from Jan 13 to 17, in what will be the first visit by a Canadian prime minister since 2017.

As Canada reassesses its place in a fragmenting global economy, China's importance to the country's trade and energy future has become impossible to ignore, according to Jiang Wenran, founding director of the China Institute at the University of Alberta.

Jiang said that China's role in Canada's external economic relations is structurally irreplaceable. He said that Canada's trade with China alone equals its total trade with the EU or all other Asia-Pacific nations combined.

He described recent efforts by the Carney government to reset ties as an acknowledgment of economic reality.

He cited Carney's emphasis on trade predictability. As Carney himself has said, Jiang noted, "predictable, rules-based trade" requires engaging "the Asia-Pacific's largest economy".

According to Jiang, resolving ongoing trade disputes should be an immediate priority. "Ottawa must urgently resolve trade disputes with China, particularly the mutually destructive tariffs on electric vehicles and agricultural goods," he said.

Jiang also urged a shift in tone from confrontation to selective cooperation. Canada, he said, must "replace confrontation with selective cooperation on shared challenges like energy trade, manufacturing, climate change and Arctic governance".

gaoyang@chinadailyusa.com