‘A turning point’: Carney ‘very pleased’ after Canada’s first formal meeting with China in eight years

This combination of file pictures created on October 31, 2025 shows Prime Minister Mark Carney and China's President Xi Jinping. Jinping invited Carney to China, in the first formal talks between the nations' leaders since 2017. Photo by ARIF KARTONO / ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS /AFP via Getty Images

Article content

Prime Minister Mark Carney hailed a “turning point” in his nation’s ties with China after a meeting with Chinese Xi Jinping that marked the first formal sitdown in eight years between leaders of the two nations.

Article content

“Very pleased with the outcome of the meeting,” Carney told reporters after meeting with Xi on the sidelines of the annual Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Gyeongju, South Korea. “We now have a turning point in the relationship — a turning point that creates opportunities for Canadian families, for Canadian businesses and Canadian workers.”

Article content

Article content

Article content

Carney earlier said he welcomed an invitation for him to visit China extended by Xi. China’s president said at the start of their meeting, “In recent times, after mutual efforts, China-Canada ties have shown a recovery and improvement trend. This aligns with both countries’ mutual interest.”

Article content

Article content

“China is willing to work with Canada to push China-Canada ties to return to the correct track of being healthy, stable and sustainable as soon as possible,” Xi said.

Article content

China and Canada have gone through multiple strains in recent years that have affected bilateral flows of commerce. The two leaders on Friday discussed solutions to trade irritants including “agriculture and agri-food products, such as canola, as well as seafood and electric vehicles,” according to a readout issued by Carney’s office.

Article content

‘Move quickly’

Article content

In the sit-down, which lasted about 40 minutes, Carney and Xi directed their respective officials “to move quickly to resolve outstanding trade issues,” the Canadian readout said. They also discussed deeper cooperation in energy, agriculture, manufacturing, climate change, and international finance, it said.

Article content

Article content

The bilateral relationship plummeted when China detained two Canadians, Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, in apparent retaliation for Canada’s arrest of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou on a US extradition warrant.

Article content

Article content

The two men were released in 2021, but ties didn’t dramatically improve — with allegations swirling in Canada that China had interfered in previous elections and Beijing continuing to block imports of Canadian beef and pet food, among other goods.

Article content

“Our countries have a long history of engagement,” Carney said, noting the recent 55th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties with Communist-ruled China. “In recent years we have not been as engaged,” he said, in oblique reference to the tensions between the two Pacific nations.

Article content

Trudeau chastised

Article content

Former leader Justin Trudeau spoke briefly to Xi in late 2023, with that exchange the first time they had spoken since Xi chastised Trudeau in public for allegedly leaking details of a prior meeting.