OTTAWA – Canada and China released a series of agreements Thursday aimed at boosting bilateral trade and investment — even if there is no resolution yet to the tariff dispute.
“What it signals to me is a desire to basically revitalize (and) restart a whole bunch of institutional mechanisms that have gone dormant over the past decade because of the strain in the relationship,” said Asia Pacific Foundation vice-president Vina Nadjibulla.
“All of that can be derailed if the political environment changes.”
Nadjibulla said the agreements reflect an openness and desire to explore co-operation in these areas.
“We don’t yet have any specifics on any of them,” she said.
Here’s a look at what these agreements mean — and what’s missing.
No tariff deal
The biggest sticking point in the Canada-China trade relationship has not yet been sorted. Canada imposed tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, aluminum and steel, which prompted Beijing to retaliate with duties on Canadian canola, seafood and other agricultural products.
Beijing has said it would drop the canola tariffs if Canada scraps its EV levy. Atlantic and western premiers have been urging Ottawa to do just that, while Ontario Premier Doug Ford insists the tariffs protect domestic jobs in the auto sector.
Before Prime Minister Mark Carney’s visit to China this week, Canadian officials told reporters to expect possible movement on — but not an end to — the tariff dispute.
Nadjibulla said it’s “unusual” to have these tariff talks continuing so late into a prime minister’s visit.
Lots of economic talks
Both countries have issued what they’re calling an “economic and trade co-operation road map,” a sweeping document that outlines where both countries want to grow economic ties and what might be involved.
The document points to industries where Canada and China want to collaborate more, as well as areas Ottawa has siloed away from Chinese involvement. It promises mutual investment in agriculture, energy and consumer services and goods.
The document welcomes Canadian investment in aerospace and advanced manufacturing in China, but does not foresee Chinese investments in these sectors in Canada. Prime Minister Carney has said he does not want Chinese investment in sensitive sectors.
The document says both countries vow to improve “the transparency for foreign investments in accordance with their domestic legal frameworks.” Nadjibulla said that could inform how Canada navigates talks on the continental trade deal while managing Washington’s concerns about China.
“Those details will have to be … negotiated by Canada with an eye on how they would impact discussions with the U.S.,” she said, noting talks with Washington seem unpredictable.
“We can’t just wait until everything with the U.S. is resolved before we even begin to talk to others, including others who are difficult like China.”
The agreements also escalate the work of the Joint Economic and Trade Commission, a body tasked with resolving trade barriers that was dormant until Carney brought it back to life last year. Thursday’s agreements will have trade ministers from each country chair the commission, which will meet in Canada in the summer or fall.
“Presumably that’s also the time where we might have more movement on the canola and agricultural tariff issues, because this group has been tasked to resolve any economic and trade differences between the two countries,” Nadjibulla said.
Canada and China have also revived a joint agricultural committee which also touches on these issues.
The document promises a new working group on finance with frequent, professional, and in-depth exchanges on issues such as “anti-money laundering, cross-border capital flows,” financial stability and monetary issues.
The working group might draw on Carney’s economic expertise, Nadjibulla said, and could help address China’s monetary policy challenges — which include balancing growth and financial stability, dealing with property-sector shocks, deflation and climate targets.
The document also pledges more co-operation between small- and medium-sized enterprises on both sides of the Pacific. Nadjibulla said all the agreements signal to the private sector that Ottawa is more open to business in China.
Energy
The main economic document puts trade in energy, both clean and conventional, at the forefront of co-operation efforts, as analysts predicted.
China and Canada also signed a memorandum on energy in which Beijing calls Canada “an important potential partner” for oil, liquefied natural gas and petroleum imports, “based on market principles.”
The document says both countries “recognize that conventional energy continues to play an important role in the energy transition” but also want to explore opportunities in “renewable energy co-operation, including offshore wind.”
The memorandum of understanding also calls for more co-operation on CANDU reactors, a Canadian design used both for power generation and medical isotopes.
Energy Minister Tim Hodgson said there is an appetite in China for more Canadian energy products as it seeks “reliable trading partners … that don’t use energy for coercion.”
The deal might see the first major Chinese investments in Canada’s oilsands in decades.
Tourism
Both countries have agreed to work on enhancing tourism. One memorandum coming out of Carney’s meetings in Beijing talks about having tourism boards collaborate on running promotional campaigns focused on nature in both countries, sister cities and at events like the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
The memorandum says the countries will work on themes that appeal to Chinese consumers — such as the legacy of Norman Bethune, the surgeon born in Gravenhurst, Ont. who treated Chinese forces and civilians fighting the invading Japanese.
It says a joint committee on cultural heritage will have cabinet ministers from each country meet every two years to discuss projects such as “co-operation between museums, theatres, foundations and major cultural festivals.”
In August 2023, China lifted a pandemic ban on group tours to numerous countries but kept its tourists effectively barred from group visits to Canada. It lifted those restrictions last November.
The Chinese embassy in Ottawa said at the time this measure was in response to the Trudeau government having “hyped up” the issue of foreign interference and an increase in anti-Asian discrimination.
Lumber
British Columbia’s Forests Ministry has signed an MOU with Beijing to boost research, development and promotion of modern wood construction for creating green buildings in China.
The five-year agreement, which is not legally binding, has Natural Resources Canada involved with China’s housing and development ministry, with both sides pledging to explore “practical approaches” for green developments.
That would mean integrating modern wood construction into China’s urban and rural builds, strengthening an “industrial chain” for wood construction, and joint research on mass timber projects.
The agreement is framed around both countries aiming to eventually become carbon neutral, and the B.C. government said it’s a response to American tariffs.
Animal health
One of the agreements touches on sanitary oversight of pet food and animal health — areas where Canada has long complained about trade irritants.
Since February 2022, Canadian exports of heat-treated dry pet food with poultry have been halted due to China’s avian flu trade restrictions. One case of atypical BSE also led to a suspension of beef exports to China in 2021.
Ottawa has been frustrated by Chinese officials’ limited willingness to engage on those files, which stymied some agricultural exports.
Canadian industry groups have for years argued they want to sell more pet food to China, noting Australian exports have gone up as China’s growing middle class adopts more cats and dogs.
Global trade
The main economics agreement between both countries says both support rules-based trade with the World Trade Organization “at its core,” and both support WTO reforms. This is in spite of both Carney and Beijing describing the WTO as “paralyzed.”
Nadjibulla said the phrasing is largely symbolic.
“This is signalling to rules-based trade or multilateralism, but with a lot of caveats which both sides understand and that remain unspoken in this document,” she said.
The document also notes “China’s continued interest in joining the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for the Trans-Pacific Partnership,” a major trade bloc spanning Canada, Australia, Peru, Japan and Southeast Asia.
The document notes Canada’s long-held position that economies looking to join the bloc — which include China and Taiwan — need to meet the high standards on such things as labour rights, environmental protection and intellectual property.
“Those principles are worded in such a way that would be very difficult for China to satisfy them,” Nadjibulla said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 15, 2026.
— With files from Kyle Duggan in Beijing and Chuck Chiang in Vancouver.
