OTTAWA – Finance Minister Francois Philippe Champagne is wrapping up a trip to Beijing where he says the governor of the Bank of Canada and other top Canadian financial officials met with Chinese counterparts.
Champagne says the main focus of the trip was on the financial services sector, looking for opportunities for collaboration on pension and wealth management.
The minister says he raised Canada’s stance on human rights and requirements for supply chain integrity after Liberal MP Michael Ma appeared to doubt cast doubts on the use of forced labour in China during a parliamentary committee meeting last week.
Ma later apologized and said he had been asking about forced labour in Shenzhen, where most of China’s electric vehicle production is located, and not Xinjiang, where the Chinese government has been accused of widespread abuses against Uyghurs.
Champagne says he also raised the issue of continued 25 per cent Chinese tariffs on Canadian pork products.
The minister says he told his Chinese counterparts that Canada wants to resolve trade irritants between the two countries.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 3, 2026.
