Prime Minister Mark Carney, the first Canadian PM to visit Beijing in almost a decade, is trying to calm a relationship that’s been on ice since arrests, tariffs, and years of bad blood.

With Trump’s “America First” tariffs squeezing Canada, Ottawa wants fewer eggs in the American basket and more non-U.S. trade. China, despite everything, is still our second-largest trading partner.

Canada slapped huge tariffs on Chinese EVs, steel, and aluminum. China fired back at Canadian canola, pork, seafood and farmers are hurting. Carney’s hoping to cool things down, but not everyone’s on board. Ontario’s worried about cheap EVs wiping out the auto sector, and critics warn Canada’s ignoring security risks and human rights issues just to chase trade.

So far? Just a handful of non-binding deals on energy, forestry, and agriculture, more “let’s keep talking” than “problem solved.” The real question is whether Canada can trade with China without repeating the same mistakes as before.

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