Canada’s minister of foreign affairs delicately balancing trade talks with China

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) — The road to re-opening trade with China is a long, diplomatic one says Canada’s Foreign Affairs Minister.

As Crown lawyers defend the actions of Canadian law enforcement in Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou’s arrest last December, Chrystia Freeland says her government is taking steps to repair trade between China and Canada.

She says Canada asked China for consultations about the canola ban at the World Trade Organization, and China accepted the request.

“We are talking, which is an important step,” she says.

Since Meng’s arrest, China has banned imports of Canadian beef, pork and canola. Freeland reflects on the fallout of that arrest on China-Canada relations and the ongoing detention of Canadian diplomats Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig.

“Their situation is my priority as foreign minister when it comes to our relationship with China,” she says.

It’s with their wellbeing top of mind that she navigates the newly re-opened lines of communication with her Chinese counterpart Wang Yi.

“It remains a challenging situation, and I think it’s important not to downplay that or seek to minimize it,” she says.

Freeland says she receives updates whenever Canadian consular officials visit Spavor or Kovrig

And while trade tensions between the two countries continue, Freeland says she’s proud of Canada’s overall place in global commerce.

“Canada is the only country that has a trade deal with every other G7 country,” she says.

At the same time, Freeland has had to manage a hostile trade approach by the U.S.

“And yet in the face of these protectionist headwinds, we have made major progress in increasing the access to world markets for Canadian companies,” she says.

Freeland adds Canada has opportunities outside of the U.S. and China with new trade deals in the EU and Asia and it’s still among the most favoured trade partners the US has.