China is expected to lower tariffs on Canadian canola oil following a meeting between the leaders of the two countries, the BBC wrote.
Held in Beijing, the meeting between Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney signalled a reset in the relationship between the two countries, the 16 January report said.
Tariffs have been a key issue between the two sides, according to the report.
In 2024, Canada imposed 100% tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles following similar US curbs, and Beijing retaliated with tariffs last year on more than US$2bn of Canadian farm and food products, including canola seed and oil, the report said.
As a result, Chinese imports of Canadian goods fell by 10% in 2025.
Following the latest meeting, China was expected to lower levies on Canadian canola oil from 85% to 15% by 1 March, while Ottawa had agreed to tax Chinese electric vehicles at the ‘most-favoured-nation’ rate of 6.1%, Carney was quoted as telling reporters.
Speaking as the Chinese and Canadian delegations sat down in the Great Hall of the People on the day of the report, Xi said: “The healthy and stable development of China-Canada relations is conducive to world peace, stability, development, and prosperity.”
The “turnaround” in the relationship was also a win for Carney, the first Canadian leader to visit China in nearly a decade, the BBC wrote.
Carney has been trying to diversify Canadian trade away from the USA – his country’s biggest trading partner – following the uncertainty caused by Trump’s tariffs, according to the report.
The deal could also lead to increased Chinese investment in Canada, the BBC wrote.
China is Canada’s second largest trading partner but is still a long way behind the USA in volume, according to the report.
