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Xiaofei Xu

Canada’s finance minister will travel to China for a four-day visit, China’s Finance Ministry said in a statement on Wednesday.
“Following the Prime Minister’s visit, I am travelling to the People’s Republic of China to re-engage with counterparts, strengthen our economic relationship, and advance priorities on trade and investment, building on our existing [Canadian] $118.9B [US$85.7 billion] in two-way trade,” Canadian Finance Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne said in a social media post on Wednesday.
Champagne will be in China until Saturday.
The visit was part of Ottawa’s vision to build a more independent and resilient Canadian economy, through diversifying its trade partnerships, according to a Canadian government statement published on Monday.
Beijing’s statement specifically mentioned Champagne as the “Canadian Co-chair” of the Canada-China Economic and Financial Strategic Dialogue, which resumed in January following the visit of Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney to Beijing.
The strategic dialogue was launched in 2017 in Beijing by then-Vice-Premier Wang Yang and the visiting Canadian ministers – Bill Morneau, then finance minister, and Champagne, then international trade minister.
The first round of talks was held in November 2018 in Beijing, producing a series of agreements spanning investment, energy, agriculture, aerospace, tourism and financial services.
The mechanism was shelved almost immediately, as relations between the two countries collapsed following the arrest of Huawei Technologies’ executive Meng Wanzhou in Vancouver in December 2018.
Champagne’s visit marks Ottawa’s continued efforts to move away from the US – Canada’s traditional ally and most prominent trade partner – as US President Donald Trump’s aggressive policies towards his neighbour, ranging from tariffs to annexation threats, triggered strong backlash.
During his visit, Carney secured the removal of punitive Chinese tariffs on key Canadian agricultural exports – including canola seeds, lobsters and crabs – while Ottawa slashed tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles (EVs) to 6.1 per cent from 100 per cent, allowing up to 49,000 vehicles a year into the country.
The Biden administration in 2024 introduced a 100 per cent tariff on Chinese EVs. Together with the 2025 ban on Chinese software and hardware in connected vehicle systems, Washington has effectively banned Chinese carmakers from the US.
US carmakers have also reportedly lobbied the White House to keep the ban ahead of Trump’s visit to Beijing.
Following Carney’s visit, Canada also reversed a 2024 decision to shut down TikTok’s Canadian operations on security grounds.


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Francois-Philippe Champagne’s four-day trip comes close on the heels of Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s visit to Beijing in January


Francois-Philippe Champagne’s four-day trip comes close on the heels of Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s visit to Beijing in January.


Canada’s finance minister visits China as both countries seek to bolster ties

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Francois-Philippe Champagne’s four-day trip comes close on the heels of Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s visit to Beijing in January

Francois-Philippe Champagne’s four-day trip comes close on the heels of Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s visit to Beijing in January