Canada pivots to China for a possible free-trade deal as rows with Trump grow
Exploratory talks are a sign that Canada sees the need to diversify its trade relations and mine the ‘great untapped potential’ of China’s marketplace
Canada has been in exploratory discussions with China on a possible bilateral free trade agreement that would address the potential and existing challenges of doing business in the world’s second-largest economy, the Canadian foreign ministry said.
The talks are a sign that Canada recognises the need to diversify its trade relations and move beyond relying on its long-time major trading partner, the US.
Brittany Venhola-Fletcher, a Global Affairs Canada spokeswoman, said in an email to the South China Morning Post on Friday that as Canada continues to explore opportunities to expand trade and investment in the fast-growing Chinese market, there remains “great untapped potential and many existing challenges in doing business with China”.
“This is why Canada and China are conducting exploratory discussions to determine whether and how to pursue a possible free trade agreement,” Fletcher said. In late April in Ottawa, China and Canada concluded a second round of “exploratory discussions” that allowed the parties to exchange views about a possible bilateral free trade agreement.
Fletcher made the comment as the US, Canada and Mexico are in the midst of the first round of renegotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement (Nafta), North America’s biggest trilateral free trade deal. US President Donald Trump in March called Nafta the “worst trade deal ever signed”, blaming Canada and particularly Mexico for the US trade deficit and the flight of jobs from the US.