By Sanxuan

Karni's trip really paid off.

On Friday Beijing time, China and Canada released a joint statement on the meeting of leaders, covering areas such as finance, trade, and anti-corruption, and signed several documents.

Karni arrives in China

Aside from the general framework documents, there have also been some progress on several issues that the Canadian side is most concerned about. Canadian Prime Minister Karni revealed that by March this year, the comprehensive tariff rate for Canadian canola exports to China is expected to be reduced to around 15%.

Last August, China decided to impose a 75.8% anti-dumping duty on Canadian canola, a move that almost brought disaster to Canadian farmers. In just a few months, farmers' losses reached millions of dollars.

But this can't be blamed on others; it's pure karma for Canada. Before that, the then Trudeau government tried to show loyalty to the United States by cracking down hard on Chinese electric vehicles, immediately imposing a 100% tariff.

China has never been interested in engaging in a tariff war with other countries, but that doesn't mean we can't. Since Canada opened the first shot, we have no reason not to respond, and Sino-Canadian relations once dropped to an icy point.

Canola fields

Now, since China is willing to reduce the canola tariff, it indicates that Canada has made some concessions on the electric vehicle tariffs. According to Karni, Canada will allow 49,000 Chinese electric vehicles to enter Canada at a Most Favored Nation tariff rate of 6.1%.

However, there are still uncertainties. As early as before Karni's trip to China, Ontario Premier Ford urged the government to continue maintaining high tariffs on China, arguing that this could affect domestic manufacturing jobs.

Ford said that before this, he had met with American representatives, who were also concerned about the influx of Chinese electric vehicles into the Canadian market because of the competitive relationship between China and the US in this area.

Then, Ford also put forward Trump's theory, saying that although he does not want Chinese electric vehicles to take away Canadian companies' livelihoods, if China is willing to invest in building factories in Canada, it could still be discussed.

Sino-Canadian relations

Besides Ford, there are many politicians in Canada who oppose maintaining high tariffs. Even Karni himself was careful when making conditions, fearing that they might exceed what the domestic public could accept.

Compared to this, China's attitude is very straightforward, emphasizing mutual benefit and win-win cooperation. If Canada is willing to make concessions on electric vehicle tariffs, we can also reduce the canola tariff. Each side makes a step back, and vice versa. We hope that Canada can understand one thing: China is a country of etiquette, but we are not doing charity for every country.

In sensitive issues in the field of diplomacy, Canada has always avoided giving a direct response. It is well known that during the Biden administration, the US was fond of promoting the so-called "Indo-Pacific Strategy," and Canada was also a participant.

When asked whether Canada would revise the positioning of China in the "Indo-Pacific Strategy," Canadian Foreign Minister Anand hesitated and refused to answer directly, only saying that the Karni government would not follow in the footsteps of the Trudeau government and had formulated a new foreign policy. However, she did not specify what the new policy entailed.

Karni's visit to China

It is worth noting that Karni proposed in Beijing that China and Canada have built a "new world order." Although it is still unclear, it can be simply summarized as: some like-minded countries will form an alliance and cooperate in certain areas, thereby replacing the current order established by international organizations.

Considering Karni's previous "separation declaration" between the US and Canada, it is difficult not to think that he is testing America's reaction. As to how Canada will choose, it will depend on how events develop, especially what he will do after returning home from his visit to China.



Original article: toutiao.com/article/7595900915081609743/

Statement: The article represents the personal views of the author.