China and Canada Photo: VCG

The Chinese market is important to Canadian trade, and the upcoming visit by the Canadian Prime Minister to China will not only help recalibrate bilateral ties but also pave way for closer cooperation, Mark Ceolin, founder and chair of the Board of Directors of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai, told the Global Times in an exclusive interview, expressing high expectations for the trip. 

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney will pay an official visit to China from Wednesday to Saturday. This will be the first trip to China by a Canadian prime minister in eight years, according to Xinhua.

Commenting on the upcoming visit, Ceolin said that "the Canadian business community in China is very excited by the upcoming visit and very hopeful that the Prime Minister's presence in China will go a long way in further improving the bilateral relationship between Canada and China."

"From my perspective, the visit is an acknowledgement of Canada's need to diversify its markets and a recognition that, to work successfully with China, a recalibration of relations has to take place which will allow our two countries to get beyond the challenges of old issues and bring us to a level where our natural synergies find fuller realization," Ceolin said.

On a further note, the Canadian business representative said that his expectations are that this trip will enhance the opening up of diplomatic channels that will prove to be useful in resolving ongoing disputes, particularly regarding trade. He gave examples of trade areas with potential for further development, including beef, pork, and canola, which have yet to fully return to the Chinese market.

Ceolin said that China and Canada are highly complementary in many respects, and that the Canadian chamber remains positive about advancing this cooperation.

Mark Ceolin, founder and chair of the Board of Directors of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai Photo: Courtesy of Mark Ceolin

"We have an opportunity here to not only recalibrate our bilateral relationship but to find ways to forge into the future by bringing Canadian commodities such as oil, lumber, minerals, to the table, as well as our skilled workforce and excellent research facilities and technologies into new partnership with Chinese innovation and manufacturing systems," he said.

"China is exhibiting greater interest in working with overseas partners... Trade ties could potentially be supplemented by building Canada-China associations and enterprises that bring together our strengths and create opportunities to develop new products that are future-oriented - allowing our economy to move forward to the future, creating new industries and jobs," Ceolin said.

As the Canadian prime minister visits China this week, a latest poll released by Ipsos shows that more than half of Canadians expressing support for closer trade ties and economic agreements with China. The current numbers reflect a growing recognition that Canada should diversify its trading relationships amid uncertainty in its relationship with the US, according to Ipsos.

China is the second largest single-country trading partner to Canada, totaling $118.7 billion in two-way merchandise trade in 2024, according to the latest data released on the official website of the Prime Minister of Canada's office. Canadian merchandise exports to China were $29.9 billion, while merchandise imports were $88.8 billion, the data showed, reflecting the complementary nature of bilateral trade.

"It is important to note that Canadian businesses have remained steadfast in their dedication to the Chinese market," Ceolin said. 

He further noted that recently, especially with unfortunate developments in some of Canada's larger and more traditional markets, there has been a growing awareness in Canada of the value of market diversification in order to protect the financial well-being of Canadian industry and Canadians themselves. Since China is Canada's second largest trading partner, "it is reasonable that our leaders would pursue an expanded trading relationship with this huge and growing market," said the Canadian chamber head.

Apart from the ability to sell Canadian goods and services in China, the Canadian chamber head said that "there are many lessons that China and Canada can learn from each other particularly regarding innovative new technologies and ways of promoting new products in the market."

Against the backdrop of rising unilateralism, with certain countries frequently exerting pressure on others through high tariffs, high-level engagement between China and Canada once again underscores the importance of strengthening communication and cooperation among countries, which is expected to send a positive message to the world and inject greater confidence and stability not only into bilateral but also into broader economic and trade cooperation, Zhou Mi, a senior researcher at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation, told the Global Times on Tuesday.

Moreover, China's strengths in supply chains and manufacturing, together with its vast consumer market potential, provide Canada with more practical options for advancing trade diversification, Zhou said, noting that such highly complementary cooperation is conducive to the sustained development of bilateral relations and is particularly beneficial for Canada in offsetting external pressures and achieving stable and sustainable economic growth.

At a regular news briefing on Monday, Mao Ning, spokesperson of China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said "the sound and stable development of China-Canada relations serves the common interests of both countries and their peoples, and also contributes to world peace, stability, development and prosperity."

China looks forward to taking this visit as an opportunity to enhance dialogue and communication, increase political mutual trust, expand practical cooperation, properly manage differences, address each other's concerns and consolidate the momentum of improvement in China-Canada relations to bring greater benefit for the two peoples, said the spokesperson.