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Canada and China are forging a new strategic partnership that promises "historic" gains by leveraging on each other's strengths, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney told Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Friday.
The first Canadian prime minister to visit China since 2017, Carney was on a mission to rebuild ties with Canada's second-largest trading partner after the United States, following months of diplomatic efforts to resolve earlier tension, Reuters reported.
"It is important to start this new strategic partnership at a time of division," Carney told Xi, calling for focus on areas that can bring "historic gains" for both, such as agriculture, agri-food, energy, and finance, according to Reuters.
"That is where I believe we can make immediate and sustained progress," he added.
"I look forward to continuing to work with you, with a sense of responsibility toward history, our peoples, and the world, to improve China-Canada relations further," Reuters quoted Xi as saying.
Chinese state media quoted Xi Jinping as saying that the sound and stable development of China-Canada relations is in the shared interests of both countries and contributes to global peace, stability and prosperity.
Calling on both sides to adopt a responsible attitude toward history, their peoples and the world, Xi said China and Canada should work to build a new-type strategic partnership, and promote China-Canada relations onto a path of healthy, stable and sustainable development to better benefit the peoples of both countries, CGTN reported.
Xi also urged the two sides to be partners of mutual respect, common development, mutual trust and collaboration.
Carney said Canada and China share a long history of friendly exchanges, highly complementary economies, extensive common interests and broad opportunities for cooperation.
Canada is willing to work with China to build a strong, sustainable new-type strategic partnership that delivers greater benefits to both peoples, he stressed.
In 2024, the government of former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau imposed tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, following similar U.S. penalties. At the time, Trudeau justified the tariffs on the grounds of unfair global market advantages secured by Chinese manufacturers thanks to state subsidies, a scenario that could hurt Canada's auto industry, according to Reuters.
China retaliated last March with tariffs on more than $2.6 billion of Canadian farm and food products, such as canola oil and meal, followed by tariffs on canola seed in August, leading to a 2025 slump of 10.4% in China's imports of Canadian goods.
Tariff talks continue, Canada's industry minister told reporters in Beijing on Thursday.