China’s Vice Premier He Lifeng is scheduled to visit Vancouver on Sunday and Monday as Canada extends a trade deal with Beijing.
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Canada says China’s Vice Premier He Lifeng will visit Vancouver on Sunday and Monday, with Trade Minister Maninder Sidhu and Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne planning to welcome him.
Sidhu said Ottawa is extending an agreement with Beijing that provides Chinese market access for Canadian imports in exchange for Canadian market access for Chinese steel and aluminum, extending the arrangement by two years to the end of 2028.
The federal trade minister said the extension is intended to provide Canadian farmers, producers and harvesters “stable access to China” and supports “billions in export opportunities,” and he credited the work of a trade body Canada and China relaunched in January to increase exports to China by 50 per cent by 2030.
Sidhu said the canola changes have already shown gains since the arrangement took effect in March, including canola seed exports rising 84 per cent from $1.04 billion to $1.91 billion compared with the same period last year.
He said canola meal exports more than doubled from $146 million to $390 million, while pea exports rose from $107 million to $345 million, and lobster exports increased by 57 per cent from $128 million to $200 million.
The deal was negotiated by Prime Minister Mark Carney and Chinese President Xi Jinping during a visit to China, and Sidhu said Canada also secured the return of Canadian beef to the Chinese market in January for the first time since 2021.
Sidhu said that from January to August, Canada exported $363.2 million in beef to China, nearly double the amount sold there in all of 2021.
Fisheries Minister Joanne Thompson said the extension provides “immediate certainty” for lobster and crab harvesters and exporters, adding that discussions continue on other seafood products. She said she met with government officials and industry leaders in China last week to make Canada’s case as “a trusted supplier.”
Sidhu and Champagne said they will welcome Lifeng, and the schedule also includes events with Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem and financial regulators.
Carney is also planning to return to China later this month for the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation summit in Shenzhen, and the government says his earlier outreach to China included efforts aimed at strengthening cultural exchanges and “people-to-people” ties.
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