China’s 2025 Canadian trade slump to remind visiting Carney of economic stakes

China bought fewer goods from Canada last year for the first time since 2020, according to Chinese data released on the same day as the Canadian prime minister starts his China visit, in a stark reminder of the economic leverage Beijing has over Ottawa.

Chinese imports from Canada tumbled 10.4% in 2025 to $41.7 billion from an all-time high a year earlier, a scheduled monthly statistics release by China's customs authority showed on Wednesday. The last time inbound shipments fell was in 2020 when the pandemic knocked down imports by a staggering 22.3%.

Mark Carney arrived in Beijing on Wednesday, China's state-run news agency Xinhua reported, in the first visit to China by a Canadian prime minister since 2017. The trip is expected to focus on narrowing a years-long rift that widened in 2024 when former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau followed in the footsteps of the Biden administration and slapped 100% tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles.

"I'm headed to Beijing," Carney posted on social media as he boarded his plane bound for China.

"China is our second-largest trading partner, and the world's second largest economy. A pragmatic and constructive relationship between our nations will create greater stability, security, and prosperity on both sides of the Pacific."

The decision to visit China followed a positive encounter with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in South Korea in October. While the meeting produced no breakthroughs, with Chinese tariffs still shutting out Canadian canola from its biggest market, both leaders agreed to advance bilateral ties. Xi invited Carney to visit, which he accepted.

Re-engagement with China has also been driven by a desire to diversify export markets after U.S. President Donald Trump rained tariffs on Canada last year and suggested that the longtime U.S. ally could become the 51st U.S. state.

Ahead of Carney's visit, Chinese state media has been quick to remind Carney on Canada's "strategic autonomy" from its southern neighbour.

"If the Canadian side reflects on the root causes of the setbacks in bilateral relations over the past few years - the previous Justin Trudeau government's policies to contain China in lock step with the United States - it will realise that it can avoid the same outcome by upholding its strategic autonomy in handling China-related issues," state-run China Daily wrote in an editorial on Monday.

"By working with Beijing to manage their differences appropriately, Ottawa can have Canada's interests better served."

Chinese imports from the United States in 2025 also slumped, down 14.6% from a year earlier, according to the Chinese customs data released on Wednesday.