Latest news with #CanadaChinaRelations
South China Morning Post
04-07-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Canada playing a dangerous game in provoking both China and US
When Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney came to power, there was hope that he might try to improve relations with China, which have been in a deep freeze since the debacle over Huawei's Meng Wanzhou. After all, China is the country's second-largest trading partner after the US. The answer came last weekend . Citing national security, Ottawa ordered the Canadian branch of Hikvision, the partly state-owned Chinese security camera manufacturer, to completely shut down all its operations in the country. The decision was repeatedly delayed by the previous government of Justin Trudeau, Carney's Liberal Party predecessor. Industry Minister Melanie Joly, who issued the total ban, did not offer specific reasons but only mentioned having consulted the country's intelligence and national security agencies. Multiple European countries, the US and Australia have already blacklisted or sanctioned Hikvision or its subsidiaries. The latest ban follows a similar one in December 2023 imposed by the province of Quebec on Hikvision and Dahua, another Chinese-owned telecoms and security camera company. At the time, Ottawa didn't follow suit. There was a sense that Trudeau wanted to pass the ball to his successor. Trudeau also delayed banning Huawei even after most of Canada's Western allies had done so, despite the controversy over the arrest and failed extradition to the US of Meng, Huawei's then-No 2 and the daughter of company founder Ren Zhengfei. The Chinese embassy in Canada has denounced the Hikvision ban. The ban's timing is interesting. It came amid an escalating trade stand-off between Ottawa and Washington, which has been pressing Ottawa to crack down on alleged influence and vulnerabilities exposed to the Chinese government. At almost the same time, Beijing warned countries not to make trade deals with the US at China's expense. After US President Donald Trump's election, Hikvision took the initiative to terminate subsidiary contracts with authorities in Xinjiang. The US has alleged its hi-tech surveillance systems were used against Uygurs. Canada has had to walk a fine line even if it wanted to improve relations with China. With Trump, whether in trade or diplomacy, it has even less room to manoeuvre.
Al Jazeera
30-06-2025
- Business
- Al Jazeera
China claims Canada's order for Hikvision closure ‘damages' trade relations
Canada's request for Chinese surveillance equipment firm Hikvision to close local operations will 'damage' bilateral trade, complicating recent efforts to improve ties between the countries, China's Ministry of Commerce has said. Beijing's remarks came on Monday after Canadian Industry Minister Melanie Joly announced last week on the social media platform X that Hikvision Canada Inc had been ordered to cease all operations due to concerns their continuation would be 'injurious' to the country's security. Her statement on Friday did not provide details on the alleged threat posed by Hikvision products, but said departments and agencies would be prohibited from using them, and that the government is 'conducting a review of existing properties to ensure that legacy Hikvision products are not used going forward'. China's Commerce Ministry responded by accusing Ottawa of 'over-generalising national security', stating: 'China is strongly dissatisfied.' 'This not only undermines the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies and affects the confidence of companies from both countries in cooperation, but also disrupts and damages the normal economic and trade cooperation between China and Canada,' the statement read. 'China urges Canada to immediately correct its wrong practices,' it added. Hangzhou-based Hikvision is one of the world's leading manufacturers of security cameras and other surveillance products, but it has faced scrutiny abroad for its role in Beijing's alleged rights abuses against the Muslim minority Uighur population. The United States included Hikvision in a 2019 blacklist of Chinese entities it said were implicated in human rights violations and abuses in the implementation of China's campaign of repression, mass arbitrary detention, and high-technology surveillance against Uighurs and other Muslim minority groups in Xinjiang. The latest disagreement represents an early test for China-Canada relations after Prime Minister Mark Carney surged to electoral victory in April. China said in response to the election result that Beijing was willing to improve ties with Ottawa, a relationship rocked in recent years by a range of thorny issues. The arrest of a senior Chinese telecom executive on a US warrant in Vancouver in December 2018 and Beijing's retaliatory detention of two Canadians on espionage charges plunged relations into a deep freeze. Ties were further strained over allegations of Chinese interference in Canadian elections in 2019 and 2021, charges Beijing has denied. Joly had said the decision to ban Hikvision had been reached following a 'multi-step review' of information provided by the Canadian security and intelligence community.
CBC
20-06-2025
- Business
- CBC
As the U.S. trade war drags, calls grow for Canada to cautiously improve ties with China
As Prime Minister Mark Carney's government works to reshape its economic policies amid an unpredictable administration south of the border, Canadian businesses that trade with China say Ottawa needs to find ways to expand exports there — and fast. While the Canada-China relationship has been stymied in recent years, there are signals of relations improving. Following the first ministers' meeting in Saskatoon earlier this month, Carney said Canada and China were meeting at the ministerial level to address a tit-for-tat trade war between the two countries that saw Canada place 100 per cent tariffs on Chinese-made electric vehicles and China retaliate with similar levies on canola meal and seed, pork and seafood. Carney called negotiations with China "a top priority for us," as the federal government seeks to have the counter-tariffs on the agricultural products removed, and the two countries recently agreed to regularize communications. The potential thaw comes as U.S. President Donald Trump has imposed shifting tariffs on much of the world, including 50 per cent on Canadian steel and aluminum imports, and 25 per cent on many cars and auto parts. That's left businesses and analysts calling for Ottawa to fortify Canada's economy, including by overcoming political and infrastructure challenges to increase trade with China. In fact, there are signs it's already happening, for various reasons. According to Statistics Canada, as Canadian exports to the U.S. were down 15.7 per cent in April, exports to countries other than the U.S. increased 2.9 per cent that same month, led by exports to China, the U.K., Algeria and Brazil. Notably, oil exports to China have risen since the Trans Mountain Pipeline started operating in May 2024. In the last few months, it has emerged as the top customer for Canadian crude. Potential for growth According to the Conference Board of Canada, Canada's trade with the world's second-largest economy is currently hampered by political tensions that, if overcome, will continue to be "a key export market." "There's clearly demand. And Chinese demand is willing to step in and fill that gap that's been left by the closing of access to American markets," said Conference Board senior economist Liam Daly. Even though China is Canada's second-biggest trading partner, there's room for growth; Canada exported $30 billion worth of products to China in 2024 — a fraction of the whopping $500 billion shipped to the U.S., said Daly. Canada is also running an increasing trade deficit with China — $57 billion in 2024. If and when the tariffs and counter-tariffs are removed, the growth in exports could come in the form of raw goods, like timber, wheat, lentils and energy, according to Josipa Petrunic, president and CEO of the Canadian Urban Transit Research & Innovation Consortium (CUTRIC), an industry organization that is staunch advocate of Canada removing Canada's EV tariffs on China. "That's the low-hanging fruit," she said, since there are long-standing concerns over intellectual property infringement. "There's not a lot of IP in a shrimp, right?" WATCH | U.S., China agree to 90-day tariff pause. What it means for some Canadian businesses: What the U.S.-China tariff pause means for some Canadian business owners | Hanomansing Tonight 1 month ago Duration 5:09 Shipping to China Some businesses are also calling for improved relations with China, hoping for a more "predictable and stable" environment, says Bijan Ahmadi, executive director of the Canada China Business Council, a non-profit that acts as a voice for Canadian businesses in China. "China represents significant opportunities for Canadian companies," he said. That's true for Laneway Distillers, a small gin and vodka company based in Toronto, which imports its custom bottles from China and started exporting its alcohol to sell on Chinese e-commerce platforms in 2023. "We find doing business in China easier than doing business here in Ontario," said co-founder and CEO Jessica Chester. "I'm always blown away by the efficiency of their systems." On the other hand, Chester says she finds navigating Ontario's red tape "very complex," while interprovincial trade barriers in Canada prevent her from selling to other provinces. While Chester is hoping the provinces will work to quickly lift those barriers, which both Ottawa and the premiers have vowed to do, she is buoyed by what appears to be Canada's willingness to bolster trade relations with China, despite difficulties she's encountered. "The infrastructure has been neglected for too long," she said, noting that her current shipment of gin to China has been delayed by a month, stuck on a rail line somewhere between Toronto and Vancouver. "The reality is I run out of stock," she said. "I've spent a huge amount of time building up my clientele, my brand, and to run out of stock on an online store is devastating." Subsidization and consumption China is also known to artificially subsidize its industries, like steel, which creates unfair competition. Tariffs are theoretically supposed to address this, but some businesses say it simply reroutes shipments through other countries. And despite China being a massive market, some analysts say the country is suffering from low consumption and growth. "How much they can absorb is a bit of an issue," said Jan Ian Chong, an associate professor of political science at the National University of Singapore. "Chinese consumers aren't buying very much. So, in theory, they look like an attractive market, but in practice, that could be a little complicated." Political hurdles There are also political tensions, partly due to Canada's allyship with the U.S. Given the three-year imprisonment of Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig — widely considered a retaliatory move after the 2018 arrest of Chinese Huawei executive Meng Wangzhou in Vancouver at Washington's request — Petrunic says any talks with China need to have this history baked in. "That's the elephant in the room," she said. "We're concerned Canadians are taken as prisoners. That needs to be front and centre in any dialogue with China." WATCH | Ottawa and Washington working toward trade and security deal: Ottawa, Washington exchange draft on potential trade deal: sources 8 days ago Duration 2:47 Growing the relationship also means Canada needs to protect itself in other ways, said Nicolas Lamp, an associate professor in the faculty of law at Queen's University in Kingston, Ont. "We want to make sure we don't open ourselves up to espionage or blackmail or sabotage," he said. Expanding Canada's trade with China also risks drawing the ire of Trump, considering his rhetoric against the country, and how he's stacked his cabinet with China critics and recently raised tariffs as high as 145 per cent on Chinese imports. (Though most are currently at 30 per cent, following talks last month behind the two sides.) Because Canada likely can't entirely ignore its largest trading partner as a result of its deep economic ties and geographic proximity, there's a fine line to walk. "I think there's a path forward … to increase trade with China, while not falling afoul of what is an increasingly punitive administration in Washington," said Daly, with the Conference Board of Canada.
Bloomberg
11-06-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Canada's Former Finance Minister on Trump, Trade, China Ties
Canada should bolster ties with China to hedge against uncertainty from President Donald Trump's approach to bilateral relations, according to Bill Morneau, the country's former finance minister. Morneau speaks with Erik Schatzker at the Bloomberg Invest conference in Hong Kong. (Source: Bloomberg)
Bloomberg
11-06-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Canada's Ex-Minister Urges Better China Ties to Hedge US Risks
Canada should bolster ties with China to hedge against uncertainty from US President Donald Trump's approach to bilateral relations, according to a former top Canadian official. 'Who are the other reliable partners we have in the world?' said Bill Morneau, who served as finance minister under former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau through 2020. Noting that China is Canada's second-largest trading partner, after the US, he said it's no surprise that Prime Minister Mark Carney is looking to build 'a more stable and expansive trading relationship with China and other countries.'
