OTTAWA \u2014 Canada and China released a series of agreements Thursday aimed at boosting bilateral trade and investment \u2014 even if there is no resolution yet to the tariff dispute.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat it signals to me is a desire to basically revitalize (and) restart a whole bunch of institutional mechanisms that have gone dormant over the past decade because of the strain in the relationship,\u201d said Asia Pacific Foundation vice-president Vina Nadjibulla.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll of that can be derailed if the political environment changes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nadjibulla said the agreements reflect an openness and desire to explore co-operation in these areas. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe don\u2019t yet have any specifics on any of them,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s a look at what these agreements mean \u2014 and what\u2019s missing.<\/p>\n
No tariff deal<\/p>\n
The biggest sticking point in the Canada-China trade relationship has not yet been sorted. Canada imposed tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, aluminum and steel, which prompted Beijing to retaliate with duties on Canadian canola, seafood and other agricultural products.<\/p>\n
Beijing has said it would drop the canola tariffs if Canada scraps its EV levy. Atlantic and western premiers have been urging Ottawa to do just that, while Ontario Premier Doug Ford insists the tariffs protect domestic jobs in the auto sector.<\/p>\n
Before Prime Minister Mark Carney\u2019s visit to China this week, Canadian officials told reporters to expect possible movement on \u2014 but not an end to \u2014 the tariff dispute.<\/p>\n
Nadjibulla said it\u2019s \u201cunusual\u201d to have these tariff talks continuing so late into a prime minister\u2019s visit.<\/p>\n
Lots of economic talks<\/p>\n
Both countries have issued what they\u2019re calling an \u201ceconomic and trade co-operation road map,\u201d a sweeping document that outlines where both countries want to grow economic ties and what might be involved.<\/p>\n
The document points to industries where Canada and China want to collaborate more, as well as areas Ottawa has siloed away from Chinese involvement. It promises mutual investment in agriculture, energy and consumer services and goods.<\/p>\n
The document welcomes Canadian investment in aerospace and advanced manufacturing in China, but does not foresee Chinese investments in these sectors in Canada. Prime Minister Carney has said he does not want Chinese investment in sensitive sectors.<\/p>\n
The document says both countries vow to improve \u201cthe transparency for foreign investments in accordance with their domestic legal frameworks.\u201d Nadjibulla said that could inform how Canada navigates talks on the continental trade deal while managing Washington\u2019s concerns about China.<\/p>\n
\u201cThose details will have to be \u2026 negotiated by Canada with an eye on how they would impact discussions with the U.S.,\u201d she said, noting talks with Washington seem unpredictable.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe can\u2019t just wait until everything with the U.S. is resolved before we even begin to talk to others, including others who are difficult like China.\u201d<\/p>\n
The agreements also escalate the work of the Joint Economic and Trade Commission, a body tasked with resolving trade barriers that was dormant until Carney brought it back to life last year. Thursday\u2019s agreements will have trade ministers from each country chair the commission, which will meet in Canada in the summer or fall.<\/p>\n
\u201cPresumably that\u2019s also the time where we might have more movement on the canola and agricultural tariff issues, because this group has been tasked to resolve any economic and trade differences between the two countries,\u201d Nadjibulla said.<\/p>\n
Canada and China have also revived a joint agricultural committee which also touches on these issues.<\/p>\n
The document promises a new working group on finance with frequent, professional, and in-depth exchanges on issues such as \u201canti-money laundering, cross-border capital flows,\u201d financial stability and monetary issues.<\/p>\n
The working group might draw on Carney\u2019s economic expertise, Nadjibulla said, and could help address China\u2019s monetary policy challenges \u2014 which include balancing growth and financial stability, dealing with property-sector shocks, deflation and climate targets.<\/p>\n
The document also pledges more co-operation between small- and medium-sized enterprises on both sides of the Pacific. Nadjibulla said all the agreements signal to the private sector that Ottawa is more open to business in China.<\/p>\n
Energy<\/p>\n
The main economic document puts trade in energy, both clean and conventional, at the forefront of co-operation efforts, as analysts predicted.<\/p>\n
China and Canada also signed a memorandum on energy in which Beijing calls Canada \u201can important potential partner\u201d for oil, liquefied natural gas and petroleum imports, \u201cbased on market principles.\u201d<\/p>\n
The document says both countries \u201crecognize that conventional energy continues to play an important role in the energy transition\u201d but also want to explore opportunities in \u201crenewable energy co-operation, including offshore wind.\u201d<\/p>\n
The memorandum of understanding also calls for more co-operation on CANDU reactors, a Canadian design used both for power generation and medical isotopes.<\/p>\n
Energy Minister Tim Hodgson said there is an appetite in China for more Canadian energy products as it seeks \u201creliable trading partners \u2026 that don\u2019t use energy for coercion.\u201d<\/p>\n
The deal might see the first major Chinese investments in Canada\u2019s oilsands in decades.<\/p>\n
Tourism<\/p>\n
Both countries have agreed to work on enhancing tourism. One memorandum coming out of Carney\u2019s meetings in Beijing talks about having tourism boards collaborate on running promotional campaigns focused on nature in both countries, sister cities and at events like the 2026 FIFA World Cup.<\/p>\n
The memorandum says the countries will work on themes that appeal to Chinese consumers \u2014 such as the legacy of Norman Bethune, the surgeon born in Gravenhurst, Ont. who treated Chinese forces and civilians fighting the invading Japanese.<\/p>\n
It says a joint committee on cultural heritage will have cabinet ministers from each country meet every two years to discuss projects such as \u201cco-operation between museums, theatres, foundations and major cultural festivals.\u201d<\/p>\n
In August 2023, China lifted a pandemic ban on group tours to numerous countries but kept its tourists effectively barred from group visits to Canada. It lifted those restrictions last November.<\/p>\n
The Chinese embassy in Ottawa said at the time this measure was in response to the Trudeau government having \u201chyped up\u201d the issue of foreign interference and an increase in anti-Asian discrimination.<\/p>\n
Lumber<\/p>\n
British Columbia\u2019s Forests Ministry has signed an MOU with Beijing to boost research, development and promotion of modern wood construction for creating green buildings in China.<\/p>\n
The five-year agreement, which is not legally binding, has Natural Resources Canada involved with China\u2019s housing and development ministry, with both sides pledging to explore \u201cpractical approaches\u201d for green developments.<\/p>\n
That would mean integrating modern wood construction into China\u2019s urban and rural builds, strengthening an \u201cindustrial chain\u201d for wood construction, and joint research on mass timber projects.<\/p>\n
The agreement is framed around both countries aiming to eventually become carbon neutral, and the B.C. government said it\u2019s a response to American tariffs.<\/p>\n
Animal health<\/p>\n
One of the agreements touches on sanitary oversight of pet food and animal health \u2014 areas where Canada has long complained about trade irritants.<\/p>\n
Since February 2022, Canadian exports of heat-treated dry pet food with poultry have been halted due to China\u2019s avian flu trade restrictions. One case of atypical BSE also led to a suspension of beef exports to China in 2021.<\/p>\n
Ottawa has been frustrated by Chinese officials\u2019 limited willingness to engage on those files, which stymied some agricultural exports.<\/p>\n
Canadian industry groups have for years argued they want to sell more pet food to China, noting Australian exports have gone up as China\u2019s growing middle class adopts more cats and dogs.<\/p>\n
Global trade<\/p>\n
The main economics agreement between both countries says both support rules-based trade with the World Trade Organization \u201cat its core,\u201d and both support WTO reforms. This is in spite of both Carney and Beijing describing the WTO as \u201cparalyzed.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nadjibulla said the phrasing is largely symbolic.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is signalling to rules-based trade or multilateralism, but with a lot of caveats which both sides understand and that remain unspoken in this document,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
The document also notes \u201cChina\u2019s continued interest in joining the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for the Trans-Pacific Partnership,\u201d a major trade bloc spanning Canada, Australia, Peru, Japan and Southeast Asia.<\/p>\n
The document notes Canada\u2019s long-held position that economies looking to join the bloc \u2014 which include China and Taiwan \u2014 need to meet the high standards on such things as labour rights, environmental protection and intellectual property.<\/p>\n
\u201cThose principles are worded in such a way that would be very difficult for China to satisfy them,\u201d Nadjibulla said.<\/p>\n
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 15, 2026.<\/p>\n
Dylan Robertson, The Canadian Press. With files from Kyle Duggan in Beijing and Chuck Chiang in Vancouver.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"OTTAWA \u2014 Canada and China released a series of agreements Thursday aimed at boosting bilateral trade and investment…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":410165,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[28,101,6377],"class_list":{"0":"post-410164","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-economy","8":"tag-business","9":"tag-economy","10":"tag-national"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/410164","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=410164"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/410164\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/410165"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=410164"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=410164"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=410164"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}