'Productive' talks depend on Canada's attitude

Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs Melanie Joly visited China from Thursday to Saturday at the invitation of Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. This was also the first visit to China by a Canadian foreign minister in seven years, which was a positive signal for China-Canada relations.

Before leaving for Beijing, Joly expressed hopes for a "productive" meeting. It is therefore not difficult to see that the purpose of her visit was to promote the normalization of China-Canada relations. Yet, not long ago, Canadian Minister of Finance Chrystia Freeland said that she would hold talks with business and labor groups to discuss the establishment of trade barriers against Chinese electric vehicles, and even hinted that related measures may not be limited to the EV field.

It was inevitable that this matter would be discussed during Joly's meetings with her Chinese hosts. Unlike the more radical elements in the Canadian political circle, Joly is more pragmatic, so her visit this time might have been to use the tariff issue as a bargaining chip to forge more cooperation with China.

That former US president Donald Trump is likely to make a comeback in the presidential election in less than four months is the practical factor that has spurred Ottawa to change its China policy.

When Trump was US president last time, he not only started the Sino-US trade war, but also imposed tariffs on Canadian goods. Therefore, that Canada is taking the initiative to repair ties with China is probably to hedge against a downturn in relations with the US.

After all, China is also an important trading partner of Canada, second only to the US. However, if the Canadians want to cooperate with China, they must show due sincerity to that end.

If the Canadian side continues to politicize economic and trade issues and intentionally sets up trade barriers, it will only further undermine the economic and trade cooperation between the two countries.

It will be difficult for Canada to put cooperation with China back onto the right track, if the Canadian side cannot view China's development normally and insists on suppressing Chinese companies.

IFENG.COM