China and Canada at ‘new starting point’ as Mark Carney breaks ice with state visit
Last Updated on January 15, 2026 9:09 pm
By Alyssa Chen in Hong Kong and Dewey Sim in Beijing
China and Canada are at a “new starting point” and the two countries should deepen cooperation to protect multilateralism and free trade.
That was the message Premier Li Qiang had for Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney in Beijing on Thursday, on the second day of a four-day state visit to China.
“Standing at a new starting point, China is willing to work with Canada to uphold the strategic partnership, strengthen dialogue and communication, enhance political mutual trust, respect each other’s core interests, seek common ground while shelving differences, and continuously expand pragmatic cooperation to add more impetus to the development of both countries,” he said, according to state broadcaster CCTV.
Li said both countries had worked to achieve a “turnaround” in relations and China would seek to restore and advance exchanges with Canada as well as promote “stable growth in bilateral trade”, calling for cooperation in areas ranging from clean energy to digital technology to agriculture and aerospace.
China, Li added, was willing to deepen cooperation with Canada in international frameworks such as the United Nations and “jointly uphold multilateralism and free trade, promote the improvement of global governance, and push the international order towards a more just and equitable direction”.
Carney, who took office in March last year, is the first Canadian prime minister to visit China since 2017 and is looking to recalibrate ties after years of tension following the arrests in 2018 of a senior official at Chinese telecommunications firm Huawei Technologies and two Canadian citizens.
Source : SCMP