Prime Minister Mark Carney will make his first official visit to China next week to meet with government and business leaders about trade, agriculture, and international security.
Carney, who is looking to build off his previous talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping in October, will be there from Tuesday to Saturday. The Prime Minister's Office (PMO) says this visit marks the first one to China by a Canadian Prime Minister since 2017.
While the focus has largely been on Chinese tariffs on canola, peas, pork, and seafood, President of the Canadian Cattle Association Tyler Fulton says beef have also been impacted since 2021 when China "shut out" exports. China blocked beef imports in 2021 after an atypical case of BSE was detected on an Alberta farm. South Korea and the Philippines followed suit briefly before restoring market access, except for China.
"This has been a long-standing issue and concern for us," he said. "We're very much focused on trying to get that market reopened. It represents an opportunity to add value to cuts that are not in high demand in North America. That represents opportunities to really improve whole carcass values. We've been in discussions with the federal government about our desire to get back into China. I'm confident that beef is a part of that. I know that the Prime Minister's office is aware of our concerns and I'm optimistic that at least they're talking."
Fulton believes the lack of access to China for Canadian beef is politically motivated.
"I think that it can't be disconnected from all of the other geopolitical influences." he said.
Two-way merchandise trade between the two countries in 2024 was valued at $118.7 billion, with Canada exporting $29.9 billion worth of merchandise and imports from China were $88.8 billion, according to numbers from the PMO. Prior to the tariffs last spring, China was also a big customer for Canadian canola and pork.
After the visit to Beijing, Carney will head to Davos, Switzerland January 19-21 for the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting.
