Editor's note: Xu Ying is a Beijing-based international affairs commentator for CGTN. The article reflects the author's opinions and not necessarily the views of CGTN.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney's visit to China – the first Canadian prime-ministerial visit in eight years – has been widely described as a thaw in the bilateral relationship.

That description is accurate, but insufficient. What unfolded in Beijing was not merely a diplomatic defrosting after years of chill; it was an attempt by both sides to lay new tracks for a relationship long burdened by politics, misperception and external pressure.

For the international community, the significance of the visit lies in the outcomes and the principles guiding them. From China's perspective, this was a case study in how differences can be managed – and cooperation expanded – through dialogue grounded in mutual respect, equality and pragmatism.

From stalemate to structure

At the core of the visit were concrete, reciprocal trade arrangements addressing the most acute bilateral frictions.

Canada agreed to remove its 100 percent additional tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, replacing them with an annual quota system that begins at 49,000 vehicles, with an in-quota tariff of 6.1 percent and room for gradual expansion.

China, in turn, committed to significantly adjusting its trade measures on Canadian agricultural and aquatic products, including a sharp reduction in the comprehensive tariff on canola to around 15 percent and the removal of relevant tariffs on products such as lobster, crab and peas.

These arrangements matter not only for their economic value, but for what they represent methodologically. They demonstrate that trade disputes – even politically charged ones – are best resolved through consultation rather than confrontation, through calibrated solutions rather than maximalist pressure. This is fully consistent with China's long-standing advocacy of resolving economic differences within a rules-based, negotiated framework.

Equally important was the institutional architecture put in place. The signing of the China-Canada Economic and Trade Cooperation Roadmap, the first high-level comprehensive planning document in the history of China-Canada economic and trade relations, and the elevation of the renewed China-Canada Joint Economic and Trade Commission to the ministerial level, signal a shared recognition that stability requires mechanisms. Differences are not wished away but managed.

Political recalibration, not alignment

High-level political engagement framed the visit. Carney held talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Premier Li Qiang, and National People's Congress Standing Committee Chairman Zhao Leji. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi described the visit as a "turning point" in China-Canada relations.

Xi emphasized that China and Canada should be partners with mutual respect, common development, mutual trust, and collaboration, pillars that reflect China's consistent approach to state-to-state relations regardless of size, system or ideology. The joint statement reaffirmed the intention to advance the China-Canada new Strategic Partnership, which underscores cooperation without alliance, dialogue without subordination.

This is not about pulling Canada into any geopolitical camp. It is about encouraging strategic autonomy, the capacity of states to make decisions based on their own national interests rather than external coercion. The Chinese media commented that an independent and stable China-Canada relationship serves the long-term interests of both countries.

Canada's diversification imperative

Canada's recalibration toward China is taking place against the backdrop of growing uncertainty in its traditional economic relationships. Heavy dependence on a single market – over 70 percent of Canadian exports go to the United States – has become an acknowledged strategic vulnerability amid increasingly unpredictable trade and industrial policies south of the border.

Carney's observation that China-Canada relations have recently been "more predictable" than others was striking in its frankness. This acknowledgement reinforces a basic point often made by Chinese policymakers: Predictability, consistency and respect for agreements are the core components of a healthy economic partnership.

Canada's pursuit of diversification – whether in energy exports enabled by new pipeline capacity, or in agricultural markets – is a rational response to global fragmentation. China, as a major market with long-term demand and a commitment to opening up, is a natural partner in that process. The complementarity is evident: Canada exports resources and high-quality agricultural products; China supplies manufactured goods, technology and a vast consumer market. They are not structural competitors.

Principles and differences

None of this implies an absence of differences. Canada continues to frame China as a "geopolitical threat." China's position, stated consistently, is that cooperation should not be undermined by the politicization of economic issues or the abuse of national security concepts.

The key, from China's perspective, is proportion and communication. Differences are not denied, but they should not be allowed to define the entire relationship. Mechanisms, dialogue and mutual reassurance are the preferred tools. History, particularly the sharp downturn following the 2018 incident, in which Canada arrested Huawei's chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou at the extradition request of the United States, and subsequent trade frictions, has shown the cost of allowing disputes to spiral without effective channels.

A signal beyond bilateral ties

For the international community, the broader implications are clear. In a period marked by bloc politics, decoupling rhetoric and weaponized interdependence, the China-Canada reset offers a modest but meaningful counterexample. It shows that middle powers retain agency. It also illustrates China's willingness to stabilize relations with Western countries on the basis of equality and mutual benefit, even amid sustained pressure elsewhere.

The timing is also notable. With China set to host the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meetings in 2026, cooperation with Canada – an APEC member with strong trans-Pacific credentials – adds momentum to a shared commitment to multilateralism and an open trading system centered on the World Trade Organization.

The real test now lies in implementation. Quotas must be administered transparently, tariff adjustments completed on schedule, and dialogue mechanisms used consistently. Domestic political debates in Canada and external pressures will not disappear. Yet the visit has shifted the baseline: from suspicion to structure, from stalemate to managed engagement.

The message is straightforward. Turning the page does not mean forgetting the past; it means refusing to be trapped by it. If both sides continue to act in the spirit articulated during this visit – respecting differences, expanding cooperation and resisting zero-sum thinking – China-Canada relations can indeed move onto a healthier, more sustainable track.

In a world struggling to reconcile globalization with sovereignty, that lesson extends far beyond Beijing and Ottawa.

(If you want to contribute and have specific expertise, please contact us at opinions@cgtn.com. Follow @thouse_opinions on X, formerly Twitter, to discover the latest commentaries in the CGTN Opinion Section.)