Chinese Ambassador to Canada Wang Di pictured at the embassy March 19, 2025 in Ottawa. Dave Chan/The Globe and MailDave Chan/The Globe and Mail
The Globe and Mail talked to Wang Di, China’s ambassador, as Canada considers ways to diversify trade in light of eroding relations with the United States. The discussion took place the morning of Wednesday, March 19 at the Chinese embassy in Ottawa.
Question:
I am interested in talking to you about the prospects of improving, of repairing and increasing relations between Canada and China, but tomorrow, China is going to impose significant tariffs on Canadian imports. Why are you doing this?
Wang Di
Talking about China-Canada relations, I think there’s a lot we can talk about. First of all, the China-Canada relationship has a very solid historical foundation and our two countries are highly complementary with each other. This year marks the 55th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between our two countries, as well as the 20th anniversary of the strategic partnership between China and Canada. In the past 55 years, both sides have achieved fruitful outcomes in our relationship and in our co-operation in various areas. For quite a long time, Canada was kind of one of the Western countries that had the best relationship with China. But unfortunately, in the past few years, our relationship suffered setbacks. This is not something China would like to see and what has happened, and the facts are clear, but now China is ready to move forward. As you may know, I have been here in Ottawa for almost 10 months. After I came here, my message to the Canadian government officials as well as Canadian friends from all walks of life is that as the new Chinese ambassador to Canada, my mission is to push forward the China-Canada relationship.
Wang Di
But how can we move forward? How can we push forward the relationship from a low point? I think what is really important is that we need to establish a right perception of each other, because China has always regarded Canada as a partner, as a friend. As you may know, co-operation between friends is different from the exchanges between people who are not friends.
Wang Di
China hopes that our co-operation with Canada is the co-operation between friends, between partners. China’s perception of the China-Canada relationship is that no matter when, China is ready to engage with Canada in co-operation, because we believe that such co-operation is beneficial to the people of both of our countries. But at the same time, we hope that China’s sincerity will be responded with the same sincerity from the Canadian side.
Wang Di
You mentioned China’s recent countermeasure against the unilateral discriminatory tariffs imposed by the Canadian side on Chinese products. I think the facts behind this decision are also very clear. Because last year, in this regard of China’s strong opposition, and multiple rounds of persuasion, Canada insisted on imposing unilateral, restrictive and discriminatory tariffs on China’s EVs and aluminum and steel products. And actually, before imposing the tariffs on China, Canada did not do any investigation, and that was a blind following of other countries. This was a clear violation of WTO rules. Last September, China released a public statement announcing that it would conduct an anti-discrimination investigation against the Canadian measures. After the investigation, in accordance with the law, China’s conclusion is that the Canadian discriminatory tariffs hurt the lawful rights and interests of the Chinese companies and damaged the normal international trade order. That is why China took this countermeasure.
Wang Di
Let me remind you that what China did was a countermeasure, and it was targeted at the discriminatory measures taken by the Canadian side. We hope that Canada can respect the facts and rectify its wrongdoings; then this problem will be resolved.
Question:
As you know, the Canadian government said it took the measures against electric vehicles and steel and aluminum, because Canada said that China has been dumping; strategically overproducing and dumping product to the detriment of Canadian and North American industry.
Wang Di
If you want to know what is really overproduction – overcapacity – we can have a very detailed discussion. A lot of experts have clear opinions about what overcapacity is. But I want to point out here: the success of China’s new energy industry, including the EVs, is built on Chinese companies’ technological innovation, built on the well-established supply and industrial chains of China, built on the quality labour force of China. All these comparative advantages of Chinese companies have enabled China to produce products needed by the market. So this is a result of market principles, not government subsidies. And, actually, there was no dumping in the Canadian market, because here in Canada, you don’t have a lot. You only have few Chinese-made EVs.
Wang Di
Actually, a couple of days ago, I asked my colleagues here to find a passenger EV made by China here in the Canadian government, in the Canadian market, but they couldn’t find it.
Question:
Teslas?
Wang Di
Well, Tesla, just to be clear, is the product of somebody who is a dual citizen of Canada and the United States.
Wang Di
Again, you cannot draw the conclusion of some countries dumping here in Canada just by saying that the country has some cars here. Do you know the numbers of exported Chinese cars every year?
Question:
Tell me.
Wang Di
Every year, only 15 per cent of Chinese-made cars are exported.
Wang Di
And if you look at the numbers of other major car-producing countries, their export percentage is very high. And if you are interested, I can share with you these numbers.
Question:
Earlier in the conversation, you talked about us imposing these tariffs on electric vehicles from China because we were “blindly following” other countries. What other country are you referring to?
Wang Di
Your neighbour to the south.
Question:
By imposing these tariffs on Canada for our tariffs on electric vehicles, which we took in co-ordination with the United States, is China asking us to choose sides? We have to either stick with the Americans in protecting the North American auto market or suffer trade-related retaliation from China. Are you asking us to choose sides?
Wang Di
The relationship between Canada and the United States, as well as with other countries, is the business between Canada and other countries. It has nothing to do with China.
Wang Di
But what we care about is that when Canada is growing its relations with other countries, it should not sacrifice China’s interests, China-Canada co-operation. Again, let me be clear, the countermeasure taken by China on Canada was targeted at the discriminatory measures taken by Canada. If Canada does not continue to implement the discriminatory measures against China, then I think it would not be necessary for China’s countermeasures to continue to exist.
Question:
I would like to turn to the subject of the United States. The United States is proving to be an unreliable trading partner for Canada, and there is rising anti-American sentiment in Canada. One of the questions that people in Canada have is could China substantially increase its purchase of Canadian products to offset any decline in Canadian exports to the United States?
Wang Di
Like I said earlier in our conversation, our two countries, China and Canada, have great complementarities, and by complementarities I mean complementarities in our resource endowments and economic structures. So there is huge potential for China, Canada, to conduct practical co-operation in the future. And this co-operation is mutually beneficial and the co-operation is the result of our respective needs to develop our own countries and to provide a better life to our people. So our co-operation meets the expectations of our people and the co-operation should not be determined by any other third party and should not be limited or interfered with by any other third party. Actually, you are not the first one who posed this question to me. Recently a lot of Canadian friends have asked me this question.
Question:
When you I asked you if you could buy more products from Canada, you said there are tremendous possibilities for increased co-operation. Do you mean buying more Canadian products? Because that’s what I’m asking.
Wang Di
Trade is something that should be conducted by companies from both countries in accordance with the market rules. What the governments of our two countries should be doing is providing a transparent, open and non-discriminatory environment for our businesses to conduct normal trade with each other. You actually touched upon a very important issue. And that issue is: what role should government play in the normal trade between the two countries? I often say that when you are doing business, you should talk like a businessperson. So when we are talking about trade, we should give the driver’s seat to the companies of the two countries.
Wang Di
Actually, Canada has a lot of good products that Chinese companies would like to buy. But oftentimes when Chinese companies come here to Canada, what they find is that there is a lot of government restrictions imposed on them by the Canadian side. And a lot of Chinese companies actually have the willingness to make investment here in Canada. But again, they are met with a lot of restrictions from the Canadian side.
Question:
Could you give me some precise examples of these restrictions?
Wang Di
There are too many.
Question:
Well, start with a few.
Wang Di
For example: EVs. As far as I know, one of the biggest Chinese EV producers BYD, had carefully thought about coming to Canada to make investment. But they met huge difficulties, restrictions and obstruction, and they had to give up the idea of investing in Canada. And I heard that they have moved to other countries, and they have been very successful there.
Wang Di
If BYD was successful in investing in Canada, then I think the result would be the Canadian consumers would have been able to enjoy the EVs with the latest technology, with very good quality and with a cheaper price. Isn’t that a good thing? And that would also be a very good contribution to the Canadian government’s efforts in addressing climate change.
Question:
I would like to return to the subject of restrictions at a later point in the interview. But now I want to ask you about Donald Trump and his treatment of Canada. Mr. Trump has been talking with increased frequency and detail about how he wants to annex Canada and make it the 51st state. Does China support Mr. Trump’s interest in annexing Canada?
Wang Di
First of all, it is China’s fundamental principle of foreign policy to respect all countries’ sovereignty and territorial integrity. Canada is a sovereign country, so we of course respect Canada’s sovereignty and its territorial integrity. This is no doubt.
Question:
I understand what you’re saying, but Mr. Trump talks about this almost every day now. So I want to know if China supports his interest in annexing Canada, or whether China thinks that would be a bad idea.
Wang Di
I think I have made China’s position very clear. That is, China supports Canada’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Question:
On the subject of Canada-China relations, we have a new prime minister, Mark Carney. Mr. Carney visited China at least twice last year, once in March, when he met with [President] Xi Jinping during a visit to China in his capacity as chair of Bloomberg’s board. In October, he visited Beijing for a financial conference. So he seems to be very comfortable engaging with China. Do you think that Mark Carney represents a significant and real opportunity to repair and improve relations between China and Canada?
Wang Di
After Prime Minister Mark Carney was sworn in, the Chinese leadership sent a congratulatory message to him. China has expressed that it attaches importance to its relationship with Canada, and has expressed the willingness to work together with a new government to improve and develop our relations. So we look forward that Canada can establish a correct perception of China and adopt a pragmatic and proactive China policy.
Wang Di
It’s a natural thing that China and Canada as two countries have differences in many areas. But the 55 years of history since the establishment of diplomatic ties has fully proven that as long as both sides can uphold the principle of mutual respect and seeking common ground while reserving differences in promoting our relationship, we will be able to achieve mutual benefit. Let me reiterate that China is ready to work together with Canada in the same direction to move forward our relations. Let’s work together and open a new chapter in our bilateral relations.
Question:
What do you think about Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre? Do you think he has demonstrated he can repair and improve relations with China?
Wang Di
One of the important principles of China’s foreign policy, in growing its external relations, is that we deal with the government of a country. Whether it is the Liberal Party, the Conservative Party of Canada, or any other party of Canada, this is the choice of the Canadian people. The Chinese government is ready to conduct practical co-operation with any government that is elected by the Canadian people. The fact in the past 55 years is that whether it is the Conservative Party or the Liberal Party in power in Canada, our two countries have achieved very good co-operation results.
Question:
Canada and China in 2017 were in talks to begin free-trade negotiations. Unfortunately, those talks failed. Is China still interested in a free-trade agreement with Canada?
Wang Di
The Chinese government’s consistent position is to advocate trade liberalization and facilitation. In recent years, China has made a lot of progress in signing FTAs with other countries. According to the numbers I have, China has already signed FTAs with 30 countries and regions. And going forward, China will make further efforts to expand its FTAs with other countries, to sign FTAs with other countries who are willing to do so with China.
Wang Di
As you have said, our two countries have had good engagement in FTA talks. To be exact in 2017 and 2018 our two countries had intensive discussions on this. So I think there is a foundation there. If the Canadian government has the willingness to continue with that, I hope Canada will create good conditions for that to happen. I also hope that the business community of Canada can make positive suggestions to the government.
Wang Di
That if Canada is interested or not in doing this is a very important condition for, you know, the FTA to happen between our two countries.
Question:
But for your part, is China interested in resuming free-trade talks with Canada? That’s what I want to know. You said if we could create the preconditions. But I want to know if you are interested or not. Full stop.
Wang Di
Of course, because China wants to have more FTAs with more countries, and that, of course, includes Canada. But why did the 2017 and 2018 FTA talks stop? I think you can look up the materials for the reasons behind that.
Question:
Yes, one of the reasons was you didn’t want to put labour negotiations on the table and labour rights on the table, I recall.
Wang Di
For two countries to conclude, to reach, an FTA, both sides need to reach an agreement on the content, on the text of the agreement itself. If the issue is a technical issue, then both teams can talk about it, but what really matters and what matters more is the political willingness.
Question:
I want to ask you about Canadian collaboration with China on research. For instance, Chinese academics collaborating with Canadian academics and universities. The Canadian government, in recent years, has put restrictions on academic collaboration with Chinese universities by warning it would not fund research in some cases. Are these the kind of restrictions you were talking about earlier when you talked about restrictions, and do you want these restrictions removed?
Wang Di
Of course, we hope that the Canadian side can remove those restrictions. In fact, China and Canada have had very good co-operation in academic and education exchanges and this has also become an important part of our bilateral relations.
Wang Di
In the past 10 months since my arrival, I have visited a lot of Canadian universities and a lot of education industry associations. And they are all full of expectations for continuing to strengthen exchanges and co-operation with Chinese education institutions. And they also believe that such co-operation is mutually beneficial for both sides. And at the same time, they have expressed their disappointment on the restrictions imposed by the Canadian government. They said they would continue to make their voices heard by the Canadian government.
Question:
I want to ask you about Chinese interest in investing in Canada. Can you tell me which sectors China wishes to invest in and are there trade barriers to Chinese investment that Ottawa must remove?
Wang Di
Like I said earlier in the conversation, the restrictions the Canadian side has imposed in the area of investment are also many. Since 2022, citing national security, the Canadian side has asked three Chinese companies in the area of key mineral resources to close their branches here and to divest their assets here in Canada. And Canada also ordered the closure of TikTok branch in Canada. And recently without any investigation Canada banned DeepSeek.
Wang Di
I think all of these moves have seriously dampened Chinese companies’ confidence in investing in Canada, including BYD, as I have shared with you. As far as I know, some Canadian businesses in order to continue accessing Chinese investment and continue co-operation with Chinese businesses were forced to move their registration outside of Canada. These Canadian restrictions are not helpful at all for Canada to attract foreign investment.
Wang Di
The Chinese businesses’ investment in Canada have a historical foundation, and they also have willingness to do so. Let me give you two numbers. By the end of 2023, China’s stock of investment in Canada was 24.87-billion Canadian dollars. The main investment areas include mining and manufacturing. And the second number is that in the first three quarters of 2024 China’s direct investment in Canada was 6.75-billion Canadian dollars, and that was 134 times higher than the same period in 2023.
Wang Di
So what does it say? I think it means, even with the restrictions of the Canadian government, the Chinese companies are still making a lot of investment in Canada, and this fully shows their strong willingness to make investment here in Canada. So if Canada removed these restrictions, it would be very easy to imagine how great the prospects we will have in our investment co-operation in the future.
Question:
When you’re talking about restrictions, please be specific. Which restrictions do you mean?
Wang Di
There are too many of them. If you are interested, we can give you a very detailed list. Canada has imposed a lot of restrictions by citing national security. So we hope that the Canadian side can create a fair, just and non-discriminatory business environment for Chinese businesses here in Canada. Because this not only protects the interests and rights of the Chinese companies, but also serves the interests of Canada.
Question:
When I asked earlier about free-trade talks, you said, as long as Canada is willing to create the preconditions. By preconditions, do you mean removing restrictions? Or what are the preconditions exactly?
Wang Di
So to reach an FTA, it not only means removing the restrictions, because FTA itself provides more favourable conditions than just removing these restrictions. If these restrictions are still there, how can we talk about an FTA?
Question:
I want to talk about the Arctic. Canada has a lot of Arctic territory and Arctic waters. China considers itself a near-Arctic state. Does China want to play a bigger role in co-operation with Canada in the Canadian Arctic? For instance, a research station perhaps?
Wang Di
China respects Canada’s rights and interests in the Arctic as an Arctic country. And we also believe that the international community, conducting co-operation in the Arctic, serves the interests of all the humankind. You mentioned such a co-operation idea, we are open to that.
Question:
Do you mean a research station?
Wang Di
[He nods]
Question:
I want to ask you about liquefied natural gas. Canada has abundant resources of natural gas. We have been slow to build the infrastructure necessary to export natural gas in liquid form. Would China be interested in investing more to expedite or speed up and facilitate such exports of natural gas?
Wang Di
First thing I want to share with you is that as the biggest consuming and importing country of energy in the world, China’s energy market has huge potential, and it has stable potential. In 2024 China imported 550 million tonnes of crude oil and 130 million tonnes of natural gas. China and Canada have achieved good results in energy co-operation in the recent years. Last year, the TMX project was put into operation successfully. So during that same period, China’s imports of crude oil from Canada increased significantly by 20 per cent. The biggest three Chinese energy companies have co-operation projects here in Canada. For example, PetroChina and Sinopec have invested in natural gas LNG and shale gas projects here in Canada.
Wang Di
So the Chinese government supports Chinese companies in strengthening co-operation with Canada in light of the market demand and in accordance with the market rules. Actually not too long ago, a lot of Canadian energy companies have approached me and expressed their willingness to increase co-operation with China in that area.
Wang Di
But the question again is: what is the attitude of the Canadian government? Because when the Chinese companies want to make investment here in Canada, what they have in their mind is how much profit they expect they can get. This is business, normal business.
Wang Di
So if they find the profits in this market unpredictable, they would hesitate because they do not know when the Canadian government will impose restrictions on the co-operation projects they are doing here. If that happens, their money would be going down the drain.
Wang Di
So if both governments can send a clear signal to the companies of the two countries that we support their co-operation, then this will be very important for them to co-operate with each other.
Question:
When you talk about companies being concerned about decisions by the Canadian government, do you mean investment restrictions?
Wang Di
Yes
Question:
I want to talk about trust. Trust is a problem. I feel, as a reporter talking to people, that there is a lack of trust between Canada and China right now. Do you want to make any comments on that subject?
Wang Di
That’s a very good point, and you were right in saying that in the past few years that there has been a dent to the mutual trust between our two countries.
Wang Di
So I think both sides need to take concrete and substantial steps in rebuilding the mutual trust between our two sides and improve and grow our relationship.
Wang Di
To rebuild mutual trust, the first thing is to stop smearing, attacking and hyping up. And to rebuild mutual trust, we need to implement the principle of seeking common ground while reserving differences in a real manner. And to rebuild mutual trust, both sides need to respect each other. In this way, we can jointly find some things we can do together to bring real benefits to the two peoples through these joint actions.
Question:
When you talk about smearing and hyping up, are you talking about Xinjiang and Tibet and Hong Kong?
Wang Di
I think there are too many hyped-up topics in Canadian newspapers. That’s my impression after I got here.
Question:
But give me some examples.
Wang Di
Yeah, just like you mentioned, there is a lot of smearing and attacking on China on the issues of Xinjiang, Tibet, or Xizang, and Taiwan. Let me tell you, the Chinese people attach great importance to our sovereignty, just like the Canadian people.
Wang Di
To be honest, I’m impressed by the patriotism, you know, showcased by the Canadian people to defend their own national sovereignty.
Wang Di
But coming back to China: Taiwan, Xinjiang and Tibet, or Xizang, are all an inalienable part of China’s territory. So if one party smears China on these issues, that will seriously hurt the feelings of the Chinese people and hurt the good foundation of our people-to-people bond.
Wang Di
I think as long as both sides respect each other and seek common ground while putting aside differences, then we will find a right pathway of addressing these disagreements and differences.
Question:
But are you saying that ending criticism of China over its conduct towards Taiwan, or its conduct toward the Uyghurs, or its conduct toward Tibetans – that is the price to pay for increased economic relations with China?
Wang Di
Mutual respect of each other’s sovereignty and territorial integrity is a basic norm governing international relations, and it has nothing to do with whether you want to develop economic co-operation with China or not. If you don’t want economic co-operation with the China we still have to respect each other’s sovereignty.
Wang Di
I think in this regard, we should learn from our predecessors 55 years ago to see how they made the decision of establishing diplomatic ties between our two countries through respecting each other and seeking common ground while reserving differences.
Wang Di
At that time they made this huge decision of establishing diplomatic ties with enormous political courage and vision, and now 55 years on, we are still benefiting from their great decision. So I think it is imperative for us today to draw on their wisdom and deliver benefits to our people. And we should be thinking about whether we want to leave a bilateral relationship that is solidly built on mutual benefit to our children 55 years from now. So seeking common ground while reserving differences is very, very important.
Question:
I have two more questions. One is, do you have any advice for Mark Carney in dealing with Donald Trump?
Wang Di
As I said, what is happening between Canada and the United States is the business between Canada and the United States. And China has never and will never interfere in other countries’ internal affairs.
Wang Di
But what we care about is that when Canada and the United States are dealing with each other, do not sacrifice China’s interests.
Question:
The trade between Canada and China is imbalanced. It’s imbalanced in the sense that we buy far more from you than you buy from us. Do you think it’s fair that we buy far more from China than China buys from Canada?
Wang Di
The trade between one country and another country is determined by multiple factors, including the different resource endowments and economic structures. State-to-state trade is the result of respecting market principles. International trade is voluntary. It’s not forced. And trade does not happen between government to government. It happens between business and business. So from the economics perspective, a surplus doesn’t mean you win. And a deficit doesn’t mean you lose. Canada has surpluses with other countries, and now other countries are now imposing tariffs on you because of the deficit they are running against Canada. And now what we see Canada doing is that you are fighting back. So I think we should not judge whether trade is fair or not only by looking at whether there is a deficit or surplus. And by the way, let me share with you the China customs’ official statistics. According to our statistics in 2024, Canada was actually running a surplus against China. So we don’t believe that it is unfair for Canada to have a surplus with us. There’s a lot of countries that have surplus against China, but those are the outcomes of fair trade. Again, unilateral and discriminatory tariffs are unfair, whether the tariffs imposed on Canada or the tariffs Canada imposed on China.
Question:
Do you have anything else you want to say?
Wang Di
I hope The Globe and Mail will be playing a constructive role in all the topics that you have mentioned, namely, rebuilding the mutual trust between our people and helping to improve our relations. And against the backdrop of this world with a lot of uncertainties, a lot of instabilities and unpredictabilities, the co-operation between China and Canada not only serves the interests of our two peoples, but also will provide more positive energy and certainty to this world. China is ready, and me, as the Chinese ambassador, is also ready, and I look forward that my Canadian counterparts will work together with us to improve our relations.