Paywall: https://archive.md/ULxXZ
China says it’s willing to deepen economic relations with Canada as this country’s trading relationship with the United States hits a rough patch.
The People’s Republic of China is Canada’s second-largest trading partner after the U.S. and, in 2017, Ottawa came close to starting talks with Beijing on a trade agreement.
In 2019, China restricted imports of several Canadian products, including canola seed, in apparent retaliation for Ottawa arresting a Chinese tech executive. The value of the economic fallout – billions in lost sales – pales in comparison to the threat U.S. president-elect Donald Trump has made to Canada, vowing 25-per-cent tariffs on all Canadian goods when he takes office. Canadian exports to the U.S. in 2023 exceeded $592-billion.
China hasn’t threatened to take them over. Industrial, economic and military spying is so common on both side that it’s nearly a non-issue. Sure, they’ve been heavy handed, and the secret police thing is bs, but what have we done to try and stop it?
No better time to start than the present, right?