Canadian PM Mark Carney reaches trade deal with China after advocating for 'new world order'

After meeting with President Xi Jinping in China on Friday, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney announced that the two countries have reached a trade agreement. This comes after Carney, in a meeting on Thursday, touted how the partnership between their two countries "sets us up well for the new world order."

As part of the deal, China is expected to cut tariffs on Canadian rapeseed, also known as canola, and allow visa-free travel to Canadians, while China will allow 49,000 Chinese electric vehicles into the country’s market at a significantly cut tariff rate of around 6 percent, which is down from the current rate of 100 percent, per Bloomberg.

Carney noted during a meeting with Chinese Premier Li Qiang in Beijing on Thursday that his visit was the first from a Canadian Prime Minister to China in "nearly a decade." He said, "The world has changed much since that last visit. I believe the progress that we have made in the partnership sets us up well for the new world order. It's a partnership with new focus and greater depth and a sense of purpose, and I look forward to realizing its promise and building on it in the years to come, partnership that leverages our strengths to create greater stability, security, sustainability, and prosperity for all our peoples, and I look forward to this working session to advance those objectives."

Carney added in a tweet after his meeting with Premier Li, "Our countries align in many areas, such as clean energy, agriculture, and finance. We focused on how Canada and China can work together to build stronger, more sustainable economies for both our nations."

Conservative Party Leader Pierre Poilievre criticized Carney for the trade deal, demanding that Carney explain "how he has gone from saying China was Canada’s 'biggest security threat' before the election to announcing a 'strategic partnership' with Beijing after the election."

"His agreement will allow 50,000 EVs onto our streets jeopardizing our security and auto jobs. This follows him breaking his promise to 'negotiate a win' and get a deal with the U.S. by last July," Poilievre continued. "Despite giving a billion-dollar taxpayer loan for Beijing to build our ships, there is no guarantee that tariffs on canola and other Canadian goods will be permanently, immediately, or completely eliminated. Meanwhile, Canadian pork farmers still will keep paying the 25% tariff." 

"It’s time for Canadians to have a government that will put our country first and protect our security, our jobs and our sovereignty," Poilievre concluded.