Carney’s visit to China: Beijing identifies a weak point for entry into North America’s economic system

From January 14 to 17, 2026, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney made an official visit to the People's Republic of China; the last such trip took place in 2017.

During the visit, he held talks with Xi Jinping, Li Qiang, and other high-ranking Chinese officials on expanding cooperation in the areas of trade, energy, agriculture, and international security.

In particular, following these meetings, Canada and the PRC agreed to revitalize energy interaction by invigorating trade in resources (oil, LNG, and CNG) and initiating regular ministerial consultations on energy issues, which will be held every 12-18 months. Overall, eight agreements and memorandums were signed during the visit.

A key outcome of these negotiations was the decision to mutually lift some customs restrictions. The Canadian government announced its readiness to reduce 100% tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles to 6.1%, while setting a quota for imports under the preferential regime of no more than 49,000 vehicles per year.