Columbia Premier David Eby, leading a delegation, is on a trip to China. In a news release published last week, the Government of British Columbia described the mission as "part of an ongoing effort to diversify trade away from the US." Around the same time, Canadian International Trade Minister Maninder Sidhu revealed in a media interview that he will meet with his Chinese counterparts this autumn. The agenda is expected to include reducing tariffs on Canadian agricultural products, expanding market access for Chinese electric vehicles and cooperation with Chinese e-commerce platforms.

Whether through statements by Canadian federal officials or the Look West strategy of provincial governments, these developments point to an increasingly clear strategic conclusion as Ottawa seeks to reshape its external trade landscape: Cooperation with China has evolved from an option into an indispensable pillar of Canada's trade diversification strategy.

For decades, Canada's large economy and prosperity have been heavily dependent on the market of its southern neighbor. In recent years, however, China-Canada relations have gone through a turbulent period, with cooperation in some sectors disrupted and a cooling bilateral investment climate. These setbacks directly affected the interests of farmers in Canada's Prairie provinces and the stability of employment across related supply chains. 

However, amid growing geopolitical turbulence and rising trade protectionism, Canada has become increasingly aware of the vulnerability that comes with heavy reliance on exports. The idea of not putting all your eggs in one basket has gradually become a consensus in Ottawa.

In other words, as the sense of security and certainty that Ottawa once derived from its traditional alliance system weakens, it has become a necessary choice for Ottawa to follow economic rationality: to strengthen pragmatic engagement with the world's second-largest economy and use incremental growth from the Chinese market to hedge risks in the North American market. 

The development of China-Canada economic and trade relations has long demonstrated that the two economies are highly complementary, with no fundamental conflicts of interest. Win-win cooperation is the most desired result for both sides. China needs Canada's high-quality agricultural and energy products, while Canada needs China's vast market, manufacturing capacity and application-driven innovation in areas such as the digital economy. 

Chinese e-commerce platforms can serve as a vivid example. It would be nice to see more Canadians selling on Alibaba's platform, said Sidhu in the interview mentioned above. Canada's vast geography and large number of small and medium enterprises mean that many businesses aspire to access the Chinese market but are constrained by costs and distribution channels. China's mature e-commerce platforms and extensive logistics networks can provide a "one-stop," low-cost solution for market entry. This potential mode of cooperation has already gone beyond simple trade in goods, evolving into a new dimension of technology empowerment and shared commercial infrastructure.

Looking ahead, the most immediate priority in China-Canada engagement will be the repair and deepening of trade relations. The Canadian side may seek to use high-level meetings as an opportunity to first resolve existing barriers affecting trade in agricultural and fishery products such as canola, peas and seafood, and rebuild mutual trust. In the medium to long term, cooperation in clean energy and critical minerals is likely to become a new growth driver for bilateral trade and investment. Canada possesses key mineral resources such as lithium, cobalt, and nickel, as well as advanced battery recycling technology, while China has the world's most comprehensive power battery industrial chain and a vast market. 

With the shared goal of ensuring supply chain resilience, it is entirely possible for the two countries to explore cooperation in areas ranging from mining and smelting to technology R&D and even end-use applications. More broadly, exchanges in areas such as green development, the digital economy, culture and tourism also have the potential to recover and gain momentum.

All of these hinge on a basic premise that Canada can genuinely adhere to the principles of mutual respect, equality and mutual benefit, view China's development in an objective and rational manner, and meet China half-way. It is far from sufficient to invoke "pragmatism" only when market access and commercial interests are at stake. Only by developing and maintaining a comprehensive, stable and predictable relationship with China can Canada truly embrace certainty for its economic future.

The author is a research fellow at the Center for Canadian Studies at Guangdong University of Foreign Studies. opinion@globaltimes.com.cn