Ottawa should respect core concerns to ensure cooperation sustainable

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met respectively with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, Foreign Minister Anita Anand and former prime minister Jean Chretien in Ottawa on Friday. The discussions struck a pragmatic tone, focusing on cooperation, exchanges and the need to properly manage differences. This suggests that the atmosphere necessary for forging a new strategic partnership between the two countries is gradually improving.

Months after Carney's January visit to China, the results are becoming visible. Exchanges between some government departments have resumed, and trade and investment discussions have regained momentum.

The numbers tell a revealing story. According to Chinese statistics, total China-Canada goods trade in 2025 stood at $89.59 billion, down 3.7 percent year-on-year. Canadian exports to China fell by 10.5 percent to $41.66 billion, while imports from China declined by 3.7 percent to $47.93 billion. Yet even amid these declines caused by the previous Canadian government's ill-advised China policy, China remained Canada's second-largest trading partner, behind only the United States.

The numbers also demonstrate the resilience of underlying commercial ties. Despite years of diplomatic tensions caused by the Justin Trudeau government, neither side could simply replace the other with any other trading partner. This explains why the Carney government has moved with notable speed to recalibrate the relationship. During his visit to China, Carney spoke of building a strong and enduring new strategic partnership with China. In his meeting with Wang on Friday, Carney reiterated Canada's willingness to deepen cooperation in energy, finance, agriculture and fisheries. These sectors sit at the heart of Canada's comparative advantages.

Wang noted that the improvement in bilateral relations serves the interests of both countries and that there is no clash of fundamental interests between them.

It means that the China-Canada relationship should not be burdened by irreconcilable strategic rivalry.

Indeed, the convergence extends beyond economic and trade relations. Carney's support for China's hosting of this year's Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Economic Leaders' Meeting is welcome. It aligns with his broader argument that countries should defend multilateral cooperation in an increasingly fragmented world.

In his much-discussed speech in Davos in January, Carney delivered perhaps one of the clearest diagnoses yet of the international environment confronting what he called "middle powers". He warned that a "world of fortresses" would become poorer, more fragile and less sustainable. "Middle powers", like Canada, needed strategic autonomy while continuing to support open trade, international law and practical cooperation, he argued.

Those views resonate with the world's needs for multilateralism and an open economy. While China and Canada may disagree on some issues, they share an interest in preventing global economic fragmentation and resisting the logic of bloc confrontation.

The restoration of strategic dialogue mechanisms announced during Wang's visit therefore reflects the recognition on both sides that sustained communication is indispensable in an era of uncertainty.

Yet one cautionary caveat remains.

If Ottawa wishes to preserve the positive momentum that is now emerging, it must handle the Taiwan question with due prudence and care. The timing of the recent transit of the Canadian frigate HMCS Charlottetown through the Taiwan Strait, shortly before Wang's visit, on May 22 and 23 as part of a so-called "routine operation", contradicts the Canadian side's stated willingness to improve ties. China has made clear that while it respects freedom of navigation under international law, it opposes actions that undermine its sovereignty and security under that banner.

A sustainable China-Canada relationship requires Ottawa to manage differences responsibly rather than allow its symbolic gestures to overshadow substantive cooperation.

Chretien, who initiated what many Canadians still regard as the "golden decade" of bilateral relations, understood this reality well. His enduring belief that the two economies are highly complementary remains as relevant today as it was two decades ago.

In an era of geopolitical volatility, Canada would do well to recognize that pragmatic cooperation with China serves its interests better than ideological distance. If Ottawa can reciprocate Beijing's approach while carefully managing their differences, this year's bilateral trade figures will show that such a course is worthwhile.