Good afternoon. Hello, everyone. It is a great pleasure to be here for my first visit to China as prime minister. And I would first like to thank President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Li for the hospitality they have shown us here in Beijing.

It has been a historic and productive two days during which myself and fellow ministers have had the opportunity to meet with President Xi, Premier Li, Chairman Zhao, as well as business leaders across a number of key sectors. And I am very pleased to announce that we have made significant progress in a number of key areas. 

Stepping back, it’s been eight years since a Canadian Prime Minister visited China and, in that time, the world has changed dramatically. The technological revolution and the energy transition are accelerating at an unprecedented pace. The global trading system is undergoing a fundamental change, and the effectiveness of multilateral institutions on which trading powers such as Canada and China have greatly relied… that effectiveness has been greatly reduced. This is happening fast, it’s large, it’s a rupture, it’s not a transition. What we do now as Canada – how we position ourselves in the world – will shape our future for decades to come. Canada can thrive in a new system, but to do so, we must be ambitious. We must work at speed and scale to find new partners, to diversify our trade and attract unprecedented levels of investment in our country.

And we must be pragmatic. That means we have to understand the differences between Canada and other countries, and then focus our efforts to work together where we’re aligned. And it’s with this approach that Canada’s forging a new strategic partnership with China. China is the world’s second-largest economy. It contributes one third to global growth. It’s our second-largest trading partner and our third-largest investor. Two-way trade between our countries amounts to nearly $120 billion a year. There are 400,000 careers across Canada: farmers in the Prairies, manufacturers and engineers in Ontario and Quebec, fish harvesters in Atlantic Canada and British Columbia, they are all supported by trade with China. Twenty billion dollars in wages are earned each year by Canadians because of our existing trade relationship. And this is a relationship that has been distant and uncertain for nearly a decade; that has held back investment. It’s stalled business growth and cost Canadian workers good opportunities. And it has had the consequence of leaving us even more dependent on our largest trading partner. And that’s why, immediately after the election, Canada’s new government began to recalibrate our relationship with China strategically, pragmatically, and decisively.

Shortly after the elections, I spoke with Prime Minister Li. Two months later, we met in New York. In October, I met with President Xi in South Korea, where we had a sustained, constructive, and pragmatic discussion. Through visits… visits by our ministers and our caucus members in China, we are renewing this relationship so it produces ambitious results for people in both countries. 

Ours is a long-standing relationship. Canada was one of the first Western nations to recognize China in 1970. Over many decades, Chinese Canadians have helped build communities in every part of our country, from dynamic small businesses to schools and hospitals, straight through to innovation across advanced technologies.

All across China, there are Canadian companies like Manulife, CE and the Bank of Montreal that have been doing business in China for a long time. Their presence here also clearly benefits the Canadian economy. And I will have the pleasure of meeting with several of these companies later today. I will gladly speak to them about the extended opportunities that are available to them. 

There are two million Canadians of Chinese descent, leaders across commerce, technology, and culture. Mandarin is Canada’s fourth most spoken language. There is much to protect in this relationship, and much on which to build, and much to be gained. So, leveraging our strengths and focusing on areas of alignment, Canada and China can create greater stability, security, and prosperity for both our nations. And to that end, President Xi and I are announcing that Canada and China are forging a new strategic partnership. It will focus on five key areas where both our nations stand to make substantial and sustained gains. The first is in clean energy and climate competitiveness, areas where Canada and China have immense strengths and complementary strengths. Second, we’re expanding trade, particularly in agriculture and food, where Canada is a reliable partner. Third, our commitment to multilateralism and strengthening global governance comes at a time when all of this is in flux. Fourth, we’re deepening engagement in public safety and security to protect our peoples. And finally, people-to-people ties and culture are being enhanced to enrich our lives. To begin, we’re leveraging our strengths in energy, clean tech, and climate competitiveness. Canada is an energy superpower in both conventional and clean energies. We have an over 80% clean electricity grid with vast potential to power the clean economy of the future. 

China is the leader, the world leader in clean energy, producing over 75% of all electric vehicle batteries, and over 80% of solar panels, and over 60% of windmills globally. With a strengthened partnership in both storage and production, we can cooperate to reduce emissions and stimulate new, massive investments in clean technology and energy.

China’s strengths in electric vehicle sector are undeniable. China produces some of the most affordable and efficient energy, energy-efficient vehicles in the world. And in order for Canada to build our own competitive EV sector, we need to learn from innovative partners, access their supply chains, and increase local demand. And to help deliver the full potential of these partnerships and bring down costs for Canadians, Canada has agreed to allow up to 49,000 Chinese electric vehicles into the Canadian market, with the most favoured nation tariff rate of 6.1%. This is a return to the levels that existed prior to recent trade frictions, but it’s a return under an agreement that promises much more for Canadians. It’s expected that within three years, this agreement will drive considerable Chinese investment in Canada’s auto sector, creating good careers in Canada and accelerating our progress towards a net zero future and the auto industry of the future. With this agreement, it’s also anticipated that within five years, more than 50% of these vehicles will be affordable EVs with an import price of less than $35,000. Over the next 15 years, Canada intends to double our energy grid through major investments in hydro, nuclear, solar, and wind power. That creates tremendous opportunities for Chinese partnerships in these investments, including in energy storage and offshore wind. On the other hand, Canada is developing our oil and natural gas reserves, one of the world’s largest, to be the lowest risk, lowest cost, and lowest carbon. Last June, we exported our first LNG shipment to Asia, and we’re scaling up quickly, making major investments, and streamlining approvals. By 2030, Canada will produce 50 million tonnes of LNG each year, all of which will be destined for Asian markets.

Over the coming weeks and months, we will be launching a new ministerial dialogue to accelerate the strengthening of our clean and conventional energy commitments. 

The second pillar of our strategic partnership aims to increase trade directly between Canada and China. Our agricultural cooperation built the foundation of our bilateral relationship. For more than six decades, Canada has been a reliable partner for China in food exports. Canadians export more than $7 billion in agricultural products to China each year. China used to be the largest market for Canadian canola seed. We want to not just return to those levels, but to surpass them. And so, I’m pleased today to announce that Canada and China have reached a preliminary, but landmark, trade agreement to remove trade barriers and reduce, reduce tariffs. By March 1, Canada expects that China will lower tariffs on Canadian canola seed to a combined rate of approximately 15%. China is a $4‑billion canola seed market for Canadian producers, and this change represents a significant drop from the current combined tariff levels of 84%. Furthermore, Canada expects that Canadian canola meal, as well as Canadian lobsters, crabs, and peas, will not be subject to relevant anti-discrimination tariffs from March 1 of this year until at least the end of this year. Together, these results will unlock nearly $3 billion of export orders for Canadian farmers, fish harvesters, and processors as they realize the full potential of this market of 1.4 billion people. With this agreement, we also expect to see a resolution of many long-term obstacles for a range of important agricultural sectors, from beef to pet food. 

Canada has an ambitious target of increasing our exports to China by 50% by 2030. Supported by a new trade roadmap, we are also expanding Canadian investments in China in areas like services, energy, aerospace, agriculture, and advanced manufacturing.

We welcome Chinese business plans to significantly scale up their investment in Canada in major clean energy projects as well as in agriculture and consumer projects. And by building this new strategic partnership, we’re creating the stability and certainty needed to catalyze new investment and opportunities for Canadian workers. Both Canada and China are strong advocates of multilateralism. 

We share several environmental objectives. Canada and China’s leadership led to the successful creation of the Kunming-Montréal Global Biodiversity Framework at COP15 in Montréal. That is why the third pillar of our strategic partnership has a renewed engagement to global governance. By collaborating further, China… Canada and China can focus on the many areas of shared interest, from climate competitiveness and finance to macroeconomic stability and multilateralism.

China will be the host of APEC this year, and Canada stands ready to support their agenda, focused on strengthening and reinvigorating the multilateral system. Canada appreciates China’s support for our bid to host the APEC Leaders Summit in 2029. The fourth pillar of our new strategic partnership is public safety and security, and this is an area where pragmatic and constructive engagement with China is crucial. Through this pillar, our law enforcement agencies will increase cooperation to better combat narcotics trafficking, transnational crime, cybercrime, synthetic drugs, and money laundering. And we will create safer communities for people in both our countries. 

And, finally, people have always been at the core of this relationship. As I said, Canada is home to a Chinese diaspora of two million. Over 300,000 Chinese visitors came to Canada in 2024. China is Canada’s seventh-largest source of tourism. So, the fifth pillar of this partnership will build on opportunities for cultural exchanges and partnerships that further deepen our people-to-people ties. That means museums, digital content creators, visual artists, and other creative professionals in our respective countries will have new opportunities to collaborate. It also means more tourism, including following China’s decision in November to grant approved destination status for group travellers to Canada. And we’re building on this progress, looking to increase travel exchange and deepen our cultural ties. I’m very pleased to share that President Xi in our meeting today has committed to ensuring visa-free access for Canadians travelling to China.

We are under no illusions: Canada and China do not agree on everything. 

We’re different countries. We have different systems, different histories, different perspectives. Yet, we have much in common. And when we focus on our strengths, and we focus our ambition towards those areas where we have the most in common, Canada and China have done great things. In the mid 1980s, our bilateral trade was roughly $2 billion. In just two decades, that increased to $30 billion. Through periods of global tension and disruption, we’ve created more opportunities for our workers, businesses, and investors by working together. And with this new strategic partnership, that’s the opportunity before us now. It’s a partnership that reflects the world as it is today with an engagement that’s realistic, respectful, and interest-based. The work in the recent months, the discussions and the meetings over the past two days have not been a question of putting things back on track; it’s been more a question of designing new tracks that will benefit the people of both our countries. 

Because the world order has been turned upside down. Canada must chart a new course and navigate the world as it is, not as we would like it to be. We are charting this course with confidence, pragmatism, and ambition. 

In a world of increasing uncertainty, Canada is building with speed, confidence, and determination. We’re forging new partnerships around the world. We’re diversifying trade over a dozen new agreements across four continents in recent months. We’re attracting record levels of new investment in order to unleash $1 trillion of investment in the Canadian economy over the next five years. We’re building a web of new connections with China to create transformative opportunities for Canadian workers, build more stability, more certainty and prosperity on both sides of the Pacific.