Prime Minister Mark Carney walks at Ritan Park in Beijing during his visit to China, on Jan. 16.Carlos Osorio/Reuters
The defining outcome of Prime Minister Mark Carney’s trip to Beijing last week is the Canada-China Economic and Trade Cooperation Roadmap. Billed as a strategic partnership, the roadmap commits both countries to strengthening two-way investment co-operation in areas of mutual interest, ranging from energy and advanced manufacturing to agricultural products and consumer sectors.
Today, we look at three stocks from the first two industries on that list. All three names rank in the top 30 per cent of our INK Edge Outlook analytical process and appear positioned to capitalize on this bilateral engagement.
The INK Edge Outlook process quantitatively ranks stocks based on value, insider commitment, and price momentum factors.
Cenovus Energy Inc. CVE-T had already received good news early last week when the U.S. Energy Information Administration forecast that U.S. oil production is expected to decline starting in 2027. That outlook reinforced the company’s rationale behind its decision last year to acquire MEG Energy with its Christina Lake long-life oil assets. In the first nine months of 2025, Cenovus reported producing 805,900 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boe/d). Chinese sales volume in the same period accounted for 38,100 boe/d.
Cenovus’s Chinese exposure is through the Liwan Gas Project, which began producing in 2014. The project is operated by CNOOC Ltd., a large Chinese state-owned enterprise. Cenovus holds a 49-per-cent interest in the Liwan 3-1 and Liuhua 34-2 fields, which share subsea transportation and processing infrastructure. It also holds a 75-per-cent interest in the Liuhua 29-1 field, which achieved first production in November, 2020. Cenovus’s exploration efforts with CNOOC are continuing, and last week’s advancement in bilateral relations provides an enhanced backdrop for Cenovus’s China-related investment initiatives.
In terms of insider activity, the new year kicked off with Cenovus director Michael Crothers buying 500 shares on Jan. 6 at $22.39. That follows his purchase of 2,500 shares in December.
Magna International Inc. MG-T is one of the world’s largest automotive suppliers, with over 170,000 employees and operations in North America, Europe, and China. Magna has rallied 32.5 per cent over the past six months, but we have only seen one relatively small insider public market sale which is helping to keep the stock elevated in our rankings.
In 2024, Magna generated US$42.84-billion in sales, with China accounting for US$5.56-billion. Last fall, the company expanded its presence in China by announcing a new facility in the Jiujiang Economic and Technological Development Zone in Wuhu to support the growing demand of electric drive systems.
The facility is configured to produce Magna’s eDrive systems for a wide range of battery-electric vehicles. The plant’s first customer is state-owned vehicle maker Chery. Magna is also working with Chinese original equipment maker XPENG to help it serve the European market. One of the goals of the Canadian government in the strategic partnership with China is to spur new Chinese auto industry investment in Canada to help build a robust domestic EV supply chain. Will Magna play a role in the build-out? Time will tell, but it is a company I will certainly be watching.
With its market cap of under $400-million, Firan Technology Group Corp. FTG-T may be flying below the radar screen of some institutional investors. However, it is a name that has been hitting our INK Edge screens over the past few years, and it continues to shine in our insider commitment rankings thanks to elevated insider holdings and recent net buying. Since Aug. 27, four insiders have bought a total of 20,036 shares in the public market at an average price of $10.60.
The company has two operating units, FTG Circuits and FTG Aerospace. The aerospace unit has operations in Toronto, Calgary, California, and Tianjin, China. The company has also announced plans for a new aerospace operation in Hyderabad, India.
In 2024, Firan won a contract to provide cockpit assemblies for China’s C919 narrow-body airliner which is now in service in China. In the first nine months of 2025, Firan reported consolidated sales of $139.34-million, up 19.2 per cent from the same period a year earlier. Asia accounted for $20.13-million in sales in the first nine months of 2025, up 62.3 per cent. The cockpit assemblies contract runs until the third quarter of 2026.
Exposure to China varies in these three companies. Nevertheless, their foothold in the world’s second-largest economy may give them a head start to capitalize on the momentum the Carney government hopes to achieve with its roadmap, which ambitiously aims to increase Canadian exports to China by 50 per cent by 2030.
Ted Dixon is CEO of INK Research which provides insider news and knowledge to investors.