Prime Minister Mark Carney is set to leave Tuesday on the first visit by a Canadian Prime Minister to the People's Republic of China (PRC) since Justin Trudeau's visit in 2017. Carney has said he is looking to rebuild the trading relationship between the two countries as Canada looks to diversify trade away from the United States..This visit comes during a period of shifting attitudes by Canadians after a recent Ipsos poll shows that a slim majority of Canadians, 54%, support a closer trading relationship with the PRC. This seems to be a stark pivot from recent attitudes towards China, with a 2020 poll showing that 82% of Canadians believed that Canada should rely less on trade with China. .This attitude seems to be mirrored in China, as during a press conference following the announcement of the trip, Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Mao Ning, said that "Through the joint effort of the two sides, China-Canada relations have been gradually improved and developed since last year.""President Xi Jinping met with Prime Minister Carney in Gyeongju, the ROK, charting the course for the turnaround of the bilateral relations and the resumption or restart of exchanges and cooperation in various fields.".One of the topics the prime minister will be looking to discuss with Xi may be the current 100% tariff imposed on Canadian canola oil, which China imposed in response to Canadian tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles. .Canadian canola exports to China have seen a significant drop due to these tariffs and in 2025 hit a 9-year low, signifying the largest drop in any Canadian export to China. .Another export the prime minister may be looking to promote would be Canadian oil, which Chinese refineries could be looking to import following the chaos in Venezuela. Since the American operation to capture Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, Chinese refiners are reportedly looking to Canada to fill the void left by Venezuela. .As the prime minister departs for Beijing, the visit underscores the government's new approach towards the PRC and the Canadian trading relationship with the Asian superpower. Following his visit to China, Carney will fly to Davos, Switzerland, and attend the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting.
