Carney hails new strategic partnership as Beijing talks with Xi begin

Mark Carney arrived in Beijing presenting the trip as the launch of "a new strategic partnership" at "a time of division," pressing for immediate, sectoral gains while steering clear of a broader geopolitical realignment. His high-level meetings culminate in a session with President Xi Jinping in the Great Hall of the People as Ottawa and Beijing seek to translate thawing diplomacy into trade and investment momentum.

Carney outlined agriculture, energy, finance and climate as priority areas for "immediate and sustained progress," saying the two countries can achieve "historic gains" by focusing on concrete projects and commercial ties. Photographs and public schedules show Carney meeting Premier Li Qiang and China's top legislator, and a series of bilateral agreements on energy, agriculture and animal health were completed during the visit. Carney also met executives from Envision Energy, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Primavera Capital Group and Alibaba, signaling an emphasis on private-sector engagement alongside government talks.

The agenda is deliberately pragmatic. Ottawa describes the visit as aimed at rebuilding relations strained since 2018, when the arrest of a Huawei executive set off reciprocal reprisals, including detentions, tariffs and political fallout. Carney emphasized that this reset is not a strategic pivot away from longstanding alliances but a targeted attempt to diversify markets and de-risk supply chains for Canadian exporters. Industry Minister Mélanie Joly said negotiations were ongoing on a tariff dispute affecting electric vehicles and canola and indicated Carney would have more to say after meeting Xi.

Market and policy implications are immediate. Renewed access and cooperation in agri-food and animal health could help restore Canadian export volumes that fell after trade frictions, while energy and finance accords open paths for Canadian firms to participate in Chinese low-carbon projects and for Chinese capital to flow into Canadian markets. Tighter ties could also ease pressure on specific supply chains; however, the broader investment picture remains conditional on resolution of tariffs and regulatory barriers. Carney warned of the opportunity cost to businesses and farmers from prolonged disputes and framed engagement as a way to catalyze private investment.

China framed the outreach as mutual and constructive. Xi welcomed the meetings as having "opened a new chapter" and said "the healthy and stable development of China-Canada relations serves the common interests of our two countries." He added he looks forward to working "with a sense of responsibility toward history, our peoples, and the world" to deepen cooperation.

Analysts urge caution. Sun Chenghao of Tsinghua University's Centre for International Security and Strategy noted that Canada remains "a core U.S. ally" and is "very unlikely to realign strategically away from Washington," underscoring the limits of any rapprochement in the security and intelligence arenas. For Ottawa, the calculus is balancing economic diversification against alliance commitments; for Beijing, the visit is part of a wider push to broaden ties with G7 partners amid rising global trade frictions.

For investors and exporters, the trip signals a potential easing of barriers and fresh deal flow in select sectors, but the scale of economic payoff will depend on how quickly unresolved tariff disputes are settled and whether private capital follows diplomatic assurances. Carney’s visit marks a pragmatic reset rather than a sweeping strategic shift, setting the stage for follow-up negotiations where tangible commercial outcomes will determine the true depth of the partnership.