Global trade has to benefit all levels of society to counter protectionism and Canada wants to play a bigger part in rule-based trade engagement in the Asia Pacific Region, according to Canadian International Trade Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne. Meanwhile, Champagne is also looking forward to bringing more Canadian technology and products to China as he visits the country for exploratory free trade talks this week.

Since the US is likely to slap a preliminary countervailing duty of around 20 percent on Canadian lumber shipments, and the renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) is dragging on, trade conflicts between the US and Canada seem to be mounting. Referring to the rise of anti-globalization sentiment, Champagne said he believes the key is to make it plain how trade benefits everyone. 

“People need to see trade brings benefit to them. So I think today, the way to counter the voice of protectionism is to make trade work for people, to see how can the action of the government and the trade agreement benefits more middle-class families, more women, and more entrepreneurs in business,” Champagne explained to CGTN.

Bilateral trade between Canada and China was worth 85.2 billion Canadian dollars (63.3 billion US dollars) in 2016. China is now Canada's second-largest single-country trading partner. While the trading figures might seem impressive, Champagne sees much more room for growth.

"For me, it is very important to engage between Canada and China. And we are exploring ways how we can make trade work for people. It’s much more than selling goods and services, is about providing solutions. We want Canada to be a provider of solution to China," he said.

As Premier of Alberta Rachel Notley visited China last week to court trade with the growing economic powerhouse, Canada is also seeking to bring more green materials and technologies to China and to organize more cultural exchanges to “build bridges between our people,” in Champagne’s words. 

“We are looking at how we can bring green materials to China. We are also looking at clean technologies. We know there are some challenges in terms of clean water, we look at life science, tourism, education and how we can bring more people to build bridges between our people,” the trade chief said.

With Champagne and Canadian Finance Minister Bill Morneau in China this week, Chinese officials have also traveled in the other direction as the two sides discuss what a free trade deal might look like.