Despite the domestic pressure, the Canadian Prime Minister, upon landing in Beijing, instantly felt the gloom lift and immediately smiled happily, disregarding the freezing wind.

On January 14, the current Canadian Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, arrived in Beijing. This visit to China marks the first one in eight years.

(Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau arrives in Beijing, starting his visit to China)

The main topics of this Canadian visit to China revolve around comprehensive cooperation, covering trade, energy, agriculture, and international security. Canadian media generally view this trip as a "breakthrough journey," which will play an important role in restoring Sino-Canadian relations.

On the day before departing for China, Trudeau said on social media that China is Canada's second-largest trading partner and the world's second-largest economy. The relationship between China and Canada will bring stability, security, and prosperity to both sides of the Pacific.

This statement reflects the high level of importance Canada places on China. Under this attitude, there are several noteworthy backgrounds that indicate Canada's shift in its stance towards China in international affairs.

Firstly, there is the domestic pressure in Canada. Should Canada continue to be tough on China or restore friendly relations? This issue has now formed two opposing factions within Canada. Some industrial provinces have attempted to maintain a hard line against China. According to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, days before this visit, the Premier of Ontario, Doug Ford, at a news conference unrelated to this visit, specifically mentioned Trudeau's trip to China, urging Trudeau not to show favor to China and to maintain a firm stance, especially to keep the high tariffs on electric vehicles imposed by Canada.

In 2024, under the previous Trudeau government, Canada imposed tariffs on various Chinese exports, with electric vehicles facing a 100% tariff, which led to a downturn in Sino-Canadian trade and affected normal bilateral relations. Ontario, home to Canada's automotive industry, naturally supports these tariffs due to its short-term interests.

(Ontario Premier Doug Ford publicly urged Trudeau to maintain a hard line against China)

But not all Canadians are like Doug Ford. The premiers of Manitoba and Saskatchewan provinces in western Canada both support the removal of electric vehicle tariffs. The reason is that these western provinces are mainly agricultural, with strong reliance on the Chinese market.

After Canada implemented unfriendly economic policies toward China, China also took a series of countermeasures, including actions against Canadian canola oil, peas, and other goods, and found that canola oil was being sold at unfairly low prices, initiating an investigation. These agricultural products are the economic pillars of the aforementioned western provinces, with their export products mainly flowing to China, and canola oil even accounting for 90% of exports to China. After the Sino-Canadian trade downturn, these western provinces were directly hit.

Therefore, during this visit by Trudeau, these western provinces highly hope that Trudeau can improve Sino-Canadian relations. This expectation stands in stark contrast to the stance of the eastern provinces.

Previously, how Trudeau would make a decision was something Canadian media liked to speculate about, but based on his attitude before and after arriving in China, he clearly doesn't care much about the pressure from the east. It seems that Trudeau is very clear-headed, and improving relations with China is currently the most important thing for Canada.

Aside from domestic conditions in Canada, the relationship between the United States and Canada is also an important background to this visit by Trudeau.

Previously, Canada has always maintained a long-term partnership with the United States, with stable development. However, after Trump's second term, he often publicly expressed the desire to expand the U.S. territory, including making Canada the 51st state.

Trump's tendency to speak recklessly is not new, and such unrealistic provocations were previously considered "madness." Although they caused dissatisfaction in Canadian diplomacy, they were not taken seriously strategically.

However, as Trump gradually turned some crazy ideas into actual actions, such as invading Venezuela and recently bringing up the issue of sovereignty over Greenland as a government proposal to negotiate with Denmark, Canada, as a neighboring country of the U.S., must take Trump's statements seriously.

(Trudeau told U.S. President Trump "Canada will never be sold")

However, the so-called "51st state" is still just verbal threats. The real threat to Canada comes from the U.S. tying Canada's economy to its own interests. While the U.S. was waging a trade war with China, it pressured Canada to impose tariffs on China together, but the consequences had to be borne by Canada alone. When Canada struggled to cope and sought help from the U.S., the U.S. did not assist but instead raised tariffs on Canada and threatened to impose 250% high tariffs on wood and dairy products, directly targeting Canada's already fragile western industries.

Considering these U.S. actions, Canada must reassess its relationship with the U.S.

This may also be the reason why Trudeau emphasized the idea that "the relationship between China and Canada will bring stability, security, and prosperity to both sides of the Pacific" before this visit to China.

Original: toutiao.com/article/7595504841146647080/

Statement: This article represents the views of the author.