Canada’s leader patches things up with China as rift with Trump upends old certainties

Beijing — Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney hailed a new “strategic partnership” with China during a meeting with leader Xi Jinping Friday, as the US ally took steps to reset ties with Beijing in the face of historic friction with Donald Trump.

Canada would ease tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles and expected China to significantly reduce barriers tariffs on Canadian canola seed later this year, Ottawa said in a statement after the meeting – in a major step to ease long-standing trade tensions.

The prime minister’s visit this week had made clear Ottawa’s new objective: to move its economy closer to its second largest trading partner following a year in which Trump ratcheted up trade and political frictions with Canada, imposing sweeping tariffs and publicly musing about turning the country into the 51st US state.