Canadian Prime Minister Carney praises relations with China

"We have now found a way to address the current problems. Our discussions were constructive overall." Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney explained that sensitive issues were also addressed at the meeting.

Invitation to Beijing

"I have instructed our ministers and officials to work together to find solutions to the current challenges and to identify areas for cooperation and growth," Carney continued on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (ASEAN) summit in South Korea. He also stated that he had accepted an invitation from President Xi Jinping to visit China next year.

China's president expressed similar sentiments. His country is ready to cooperate with Canada "to put Sino-Canadian relations back on the right track," Xi emphasized. The relationship has recently recovered through "joint efforts by both sides."

Many conflicts in recent years

These were the first official talks between the two countries since 2017. Relations between Beijing and Ottawa have been extremely strained in recent years. In 2018, the CFO of the Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei was arrested in Canada at the behest of the US, and subsequently, two Canadians were arrested in China on espionage charges.

Furthermore, China is alleged to have interfered in the Canadian elections in 2019 and 2021 – claims Beijing has denied. Canada has also strongly criticized the actions of Chinese authorities against the pro-democracy movement in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and their treatment of the Muslim Uyghur minority.

Shared problems bring people together.

The rapprochement between Canada and China is also attributable to the policies of US President Donald Trump. Both countries are targeted by Trump's tariff policies . A week ago, the US president announced plans to increase tariffs on Canadian goods by another ten percent and broke off trade talks.

The trigger was a political advertisement that the Canadian province of Ontario had aired on several US television networks. Trump subsequently accused Canada of misquoting former US President Ronald Reagan. The TV spot featured an excerpt from a 1987 speech by Reagan in which he blamed tariffs for trade wars and economic damage.

Trump was "offended"

Carney has since stated: "I apologized to the president. The president was offended." He also offered to resume the stalled talks with Trump. "We are ready to agree on an even better trade deal for Canada and the United States," Carney said.

haz/se (afp, rtr, dpa)