KUALA LUMPUR — Prime Minister Mark Carney says he will meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping later this week during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in South Korea, marking the first formal meeting between the two countries’ leaders in nearly a decade.
Carney told reporters at the ASEAN summit in Malaysia that the meeting will cover “a broad range of issues,” including trade, global governance, and what he described as “the evolution of the global system.” The planned discussion follows Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand’s recent visit to Beijing, where she met with her Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in what both sides called a step toward stabilizing bilateral ties.
“We’re in the process of resetting expectations about where this relationship can go,” Carney said, emphasizing that the talks aim to rebuild trust after years of tension.
Relations between Canada and China have been deeply strained since the 2018 arrest of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou in Vancouver at the request of U.S. authorities, and the subsequent detention of Canadians Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor in China. Though all three were released in 2021, the diplomatic fallout left the two nations at odds over trade, technology, and human rights.
Carney’s upcoming meeting with Xi will be the first formal engagement between a Canadian and Chinese leader since Justin Trudeau’s 2017 state visit, and is being widely viewed as an important diplomatic reset.
“Relationships rebuild over time when they have changed for the worse,” Carney said Monday. “We have a lot of areas on which we can build.”
The push for renewed engagement has come amid growing pressure from Canadian premiers and business leaders to de-escalate ongoing trade disputes. Ottawa’s decision last year to mirror U.S. policy by imposing 100 per cent tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles and batteries — along with duties on solar panels and critical minerals — drew retaliatory measures from Beijing targeting Canadian canola, seafood, and pork exports.
Provincial leaders such as Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe and Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew have publicly urged Carney to reconsider the EV tariffs to reopen agricultural markets and restore stability for exporters.
Carney, however, avoided committing to any tariff changes ahead of the meeting. “I look forward to discussions with President Xi,” he said. “These talks are about a much broader set of issues than trade. This is the difference between a relationship and a transaction — and we’re starting to build a relationship.”
The meeting in South Korea comes as Carney continues his first official visit to Asia, promoting Canada as a reliable and rules-based trading partner at a time when shifting U.S. trade policies have unsettled global alliances. Following his stop in Malaysia, Carney is scheduled to visit Singapore before concluding his trip at the APEC forum, where his sit-down with Xi is expected to be closely watched by both Canadian and international observers.