{"id":643318,"date":"2026-05-02T16:12:08","date_gmt":"2026-05-02T16:12:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/643318\/"},"modified":"2026-05-02T16:12:08","modified_gmt":"2026-05-02T16:12:08","slug":"chinas-ambassador-redirects-leapmotor-canada-fight-to-ottawa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/643318\/","title":{"rendered":"China’s Ambassador Redirects Leapmotor Canada Fight to Ottawa\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"

China\u2019s Ambassador to Canada declined to challenge Ottawa\u2019s rejection of a proposed Leapmotor<\/a> knock-down kit assembly arrangement at\u00a0Stellantis<\/a>\u2018s Brampton plant. <\/p>\n

In an exclusive interview with the\u00a0Globe and Mail, the dispute was framed as a matter for the Canadian government to resolve domestically.<\/p>\n

Wang Di\u2019s first public comments on the Leapmotor<\/a> rejection mark Beijing\u2019s most direct engagement with Canada\u2019s enforcement of its Chinese EV quota framework, which began permitting China-made electric vehicles into the country at a 6.1% tariff rate on March 1, 2026.<\/a><\/p>\n

Stellantis<\/a>\u00a0acquired a roughly 21% stake in the Hangzhou-based Leapmotor<\/a> in 2023 for approximately \u20ac1.5 billion.<\/p>\n

The brand delivered approximately 600,000 vehicles globally in 2025 and aims to deliver one million this year alone.<\/p>\n

When asked\u00a0whether the Chinese government viewed Canada\u2019s expectation of genuine local manufacturing \u2014 rather than kit assembly \u2014 as a feasible standard, Wang said the decision rests with the companies themselves.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Chinese government\u2019s position remains consistent: we support mutually beneficial cooperation between enterprises of both countries in accordance with market principles,\u201d Wang told the\u00a0Globe and Mail.<\/p>\n

The ambassador said specific cooperation models were not for governments to dictate.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs for specific models of cooperation, those decisions rest solely with the companies themselves as independent entities. It is not the role of the government to intervene in commercial negotiations,\u201d Wang said.<\/p>\n

He framed Beijing\u2019s role as institutional rather than directive.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur responsibility is to ensure a fair, transparent and predictable business environment that facilitates such cooperation,\u201d Wang added.<\/p>\n

Government Intervention Question<\/p>\n

When pressed that Ottawa had clearly intervened by rejecting Leapmotor\u2019s specific proposal on policy grounds, Wang redirected the question back to the Canadian government.<\/p>\n

The ambassador first emphasized the state of bilateral diplomatic engagement.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe communication channels between our two governments remain open and functioning well. We have been strengthening policy communication and mechanism coordination with the Canadian side,\u201d Wang said.<\/p>\n

He framed the relationship as one of expected mutual benefit rather than adversarial trade tension.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe hope that there will be complementarities realized and mutual benefit achieved between our two sides. Through the communication channel between the two governments, we have been maintaining communication on issues of mutual interest,\u201d Wang added.<\/p>\n

He then redirected the line of inquiry to Ottawa.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you have any concerns about some of the policies of your government, I think you should raise your concerns to them directly,\u201d Wang told the\u00a0Globe and Mail.<\/p>\n

Joly\u2019s Three Conditions<\/p>\n

Wang\u2019s deflection comes against the backdrop of a structured Canadian policy response delivered by Industry Minister M\u00e9lanie Joly in Vancouver in early April.<\/p>\n

In remarks that did not name Leapmotor<\/a> but effectively ruled out the knock-down kit model, Joly laid out three conditions that any new production plan at the idled Brampton plant must meet.<\/p>\n

The minister named labour standards at or above previous levels, participation in the Canadian auto parts supply chain, and vehicle software compliance with the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA),\u00a0as\u00a0EV\u00a0reported<\/a>\u00a0at the time.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe can\u2019t bring cars in a kit to Canada,\u201d Joly said in Vancouver. \u201cWhy? Because one of the big parts of our auto industry is actually linked to the fact that we have a big auto parts sector. 200,000 workers. And we have the three biggest companies in the world in auto parts.\u201d<\/p>\n

The minister was referring to Magna International, Linamar, and Martinrea International \u2014 the three largest Canadian-headquartered auto parts manufacturers.<\/p>\n

Wang\u2019s \u201ccompany-level decisions\u201d framing in Friday\u2019s interview avoids any direct engagement with Joly\u2019s three-pillar policy framework, which constitutes the structural basis for Ottawa\u2019s rejection rather than an ad hoc decision.<\/p>\n

Subsidy Clawback Threat<\/p>\n

Joly also reiterated on April 3 that Ottawa would recover federal subsidies granted to\u00a0Stellantis<\/a>\u00a0unless production resumes at Brampton.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been clear with the company and we will get our money back unless they bring back production,\u201d Joly said.<\/p>\n

Stellantis<\/a>\u00a0received up to $529 million in federal subsidies through the Strategic Innovation Fund as part of a commitment to retool Brampton for electric Jeep Compass production.<\/p>\n

The company paused retooling work at the plant in February 2025 and confirmed in October that the next-generation Jeep Compass would instead be produced at its Belvidere, Illinois facility, with production there expected to begin in late 2027.<\/p>\n

The Brampton plant has been idle since the retooling pause, leaving approximately 3,000 Unifor-represented workers furloughed.<\/p>\n

The Canadian government has also cut\u00a0Stellantis<\/a>\u2018s tariff-free import remission quota by 50% and filed a notice of default against the company over the Brampton funding agreement.<\/p>\n

Stellantis-Leapmotor<\/p>\n

Stellantis<\/a>\u00a0was first reported by\u00a0Bloomberg<\/a>\u00a0on April 2 to be proposing assembling Leapmotor vehicles at Brampton using imported parts from China \u2014 a knock-down kit approach that Unifor National President Lana Payne said would involve limited local manufacturing and few local suppliers.<\/p>\n

Stellantis<\/a>\u00a0acquired a roughly 21% stake in the Hangzhou-based Leapmotor<\/a> in 2023 for approximately \u20ac1.5 billion, and the two companies formed a joint venture, Leapmotor International, to distribute Leapmotor<\/a> vehicles outside of China.<\/p>\n

Leapmotor<\/a> has used\u00a0Stellantis<\/a>\u2018s extended retail network to introduce its vehicles in markets where the Chinese brand had no prior presence, with announced SKD-based production already established in Spain, Brazil, and Malaysia.<\/p>\n

The Canadian rejection makes Ottawa the first government to reject the SKD model that has anchored Leapmotor<\/a>\u2018s global expansion through\u00a0Stellantis<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Stellantis<\/a>\u00a0spokesperson LouAnn Gosselin said in an April 1 statement that the company \u201cremains focused on a strong Canadian footprint and is actively evaluating future programs for Brampton, with the objective to ensure that any investment decision is sustainable and a long-term commitment that supports workers and suppliers.\u201d<\/p>\n

The company has not directly confirmed or denied the Leapmotor talks.<\/p>\n

Leapmotor\u2019s Global Position<\/p>\n

Leapmotor<\/a> delivered approximately 600,000 vehicles globally in 2025 and achieved annual profitability for the first time.<\/p>\n

In the first quarter of 2026, the company reported global deliveries exceeding 110,000 units, with overseas exports surpassing 40,000 units \u2014 a record high.<\/p>\n

Leapmotor<\/a> is targeting one million deliveries this year.<\/p>\n

The performance positions Leapmotor as one of China\u2019s fastest-growing new energy vehicle brands and a credible global player, lending weight to the question of how Beijing views Ottawa\u2019s enforcement stance.<\/p>\n

Quota Continues, Brampton Drawn Apart<\/p>\n

Joly reaffirmed on April 3 that the broader 49,000-vehicle Chinese EV quota would proceed regardless of the Brampton dispute.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ll continue with what we\u2019ve done, which is 49,000 electric vehicles coming from China. We already have companies approaching us,\u201d Joly said. \u201cAnd we\u2019ll make sure that we abide by our agreement with China.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Carney government agreed in January to reduce tariffs on up to 49,000 Chinese-made EVs from 100% to 6.1%, in exchange for lower Chinese duties on Canadian canola, with Ottawa expecting Chinese joint-venture investment within three years of the deal.<\/p>\n

The minister drew a clear distinction between the broader quota framework \u2014 which\u00a0BYD<\/a>, Chery<\/a>, and\u00a0Geely<\/a>\u00a0are confirmed for as early entrants \u2014 and the specific situation at Brampton, where she insisted on full manufacturing rather than kit assembly.<\/p>\n

Tesla<\/a>\u00a0on Friday became the first Western automaker to operationalize a China-Canada supply chain shift under the framework,\u00a0pricing the Shanghai-built Model 3<\/a>\u00a0in Canada starting at $39,490 CAD.<\/p>\n

Tesla<\/a>\u2018s direct-import approach contrasts with the rejected\u00a0Stellantis<\/a>-Leapmotor kit assembly model \u2014 and falls comfortably inside what Ottawa\u2019s enforcement pattern appears willing to accept.<\/p>\n

Diplomatic Framing<\/p>\n

Wang Di\u2019s framing in Friday\u2019s interview avoids any direct criticism of Ottawa\u2019s enforcement stance while leaving open the possibility of future diplomatic engagement on the broader EV trade framework.<\/p>\n

By treating the Leapmotor rejection as a matter for\u00a0Stellantis<\/a>\u00a0and Leapmotor as private commercial actors \u2014 rather than as a Canadian policy that directly affects Chinese economic interests \u2014 Beijing has chosen not to escalate the issue at the diplomatic level, at least publicly.<\/p>\n

The framing also leaves the burden of any pushback with the Canadian companies that participated in the proposal, rather than positioning China as a counterparty in a bilateral trade dispute.<\/p>\n

The Brampton dispute sits at the intersection of Canada\u2019s two most sensitive trade relationships \u2014 with China on the EV quota and with the United States on the broader auto sector.<\/p>\n

Canada\u2019s auto sector supports more than 500,000 workers, with production having fallen nearly 50% since 2016 to approximately 1.2 million vehicles last year and more than 90% of Canadian-made vehicles exported to the United States, where they face a 25% tariff on non-US content.<\/p>\n

None of the three Chinese-headquartered automakers confirmed for Canadian market entry by year-end \u2014\u00a0BYD<\/a>, Chery, or\u00a0Geely<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 has yet shipped vehicles under the quota.<\/p>\n

Lotus, the\u00a0Geely<\/a>-owned sports car brand, has previously said it expects to begin delivering Chinese-made Eletre SUVs in Canada in the third quarter of 2026.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"China\u2019s Ambassador to Canada declined to challenge Ottawa\u2019s rejection of a proposed Leapmotor knock-down kit assembly arrangement at\u00a0Stellantis\u2018s…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":643319,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194295],"tags":[49,48,20739],"class_list":["post-643318","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-ottawa","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-ottawa"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/643318","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=643318"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/643318\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/643319"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=643318"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=643318"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=643318"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}