- China and Canada held first formal talks since 2017 amid tense ties
- Trade disputes include tariffs on steel and canola following 2018 incidents
- Both nations face pressure from U.S. tariffs, with recent hikes and partial rollbacks
Recently, China and Canada held their first formal talks since 2017, as Chinese state media reported, after President Xi Jinping met with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney in South Korea.
Relations between China and Canada remain some of the hardest with any nation in the West, although they both face significant pressure from U.S. tariffs.
China Canada relations were highlighted during diplomatic talks between Xi Jinping and Justin Trudeau at the China Canada summit, reinforcing international diplomacy and bilateral relations.
Relations worsened significantly in 2018, after Canada arrested a senior Chinese telecom executive in Vancouver at the request of the U.S., thus prompting China's detention of two Canadians on charges of espionage.
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In July, Canada imposed an additional 25 percent tariff on steel imports containing Chinese-origin steel, and Beijing responded the next month with a 75.8 percent temporary duty on Canadian canola, a key export for Canada used in cooking oil, animal feed, and biodiesel. Despite these bilateral tensions, both nations are heavily affected by U.S. trade policies.
President Trump recently revealed he would cut the fentanyl-related tariffs on China from 20 percent to 10 percent, and Xi said he'd keep supplying rare earths and up the U.S. soybean imports. The average tariff imposed by the U.S. on Chinese goods is still 47 percent. Trump increased tariffs by 10 percent on Canadian goods and stopped trade negotiations with Canada.
Carney said the APEC gathering, "(The) old world of steady expansion of rules-based liberalised trade and investment, a world on which so much of our nations' prosperity -- very much Canada's included -- (is based), that world is gone".