{"id":322549,"date":"2026-04-22T04:14:38","date_gmt":"2026-04-21T22:44:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/?p=322549"},"modified":"2026-04-22T04:14:38","modified_gmt":"2026-04-21T22:44:38","slug":"china-isnt-an-answer-to-canadas-problems-with-the-u-s-kovrig-says-national","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/2026\/04\/22\/china-isnt-an-answer-to-canadas-problems-with-the-u-s-kovrig-says-national\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018China isn’t an answer\u2019 to Canada\u2019s problems with the U.S., Kovrig says – National"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Former Canadian diplomat Michael Kovrig is sounding the alarm about Canada searching for deeper trade ties with China within the face of growing tensions and uncertainty with the U.S., warning the pivot carries significant risks to Canada\u2019s economic security.<\/p>\n

Speaking Tuesday on the Way forward for Business Summit in Ottawa, Kovrig \u2014 a longtime China analyst who was arbitrarily detained by Beijing for greater than 1,000 days after Canada detained Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou \u2014 said Ottawa\u2019s latest China strategy is a \u201cdangerous play\u201d that won’t be viewed kindly by Washington and will threaten trade talks.<\/p>\n

He pointed to U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick\u2019s criticism last week of Prime Minister Mark Carney\u2019s cope with China, announced early this 12 months, which included importing a limited variety of Chinese electric vehicles.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe essential problem is that China isn’t an answer to most of our problems with the U.S.,\u201d Kovrig said on the Canadian Chamber of Commerce-hosted event.<\/p>\n

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\u201cDoing deals with China is perceived in the US as Canada being an unreliable ally, right? We might even see it as attempting to have a China card that we will play \u2014 you recognize, \u2018Look, I got options over here, I can go to my friends in Beijing.\u2019 That\u2019s not going to go well in Washington.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Kovrig noted the U.S. still stays Canada\u2019s largest trading partner, representing 75 per cent of Canadian exports. China, in contrast, represents about 4 per cent of exports.<\/p>\n

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The cope with China goals to spice up Canadian exports by 50 per cent by 2030.<\/p>\n

Kovrig said a key difference between the 2 countries is that China is currently \u201cin selling mode, not in buying mode,\u201d and is searching for to make international markets reliant on its cheaper exports.<\/p>\n

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While Canada has only committed to purchasing as much as 49,000 Chinese EVs, Kovrig said Beijing may seek to extend that quota using economic and diplomatic pressure points prefer it has up to now.<\/p>\n

He warned Ottawa to not be driven by \u201cshort-term considerations\u201d like consumer demand for inexpensive electric vehicles that may lead to \u201cthe long-term strategic implications that path dependence can put us on.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShould you\u2019re living in a small town and you’ve gotten just a neighborhood Essential Street with a ironmongery store and so forth, sure, wouldn\u2019t or not it’s nice to have a Walmart move in and give you every kind of cheaper homewares and stuff?\u201d Kovrig said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s going to be great until \u2026 they are available in with super low prices and bankrupt all of your local shops, after which Essential Street looks like a dead zone and all that\u2019s left is Walmart, after which there\u2019s no competition they usually can ratchet up the costs. Chinese makers will give you the option to do the identical thing, and it is going to include the price of geopolitical leverage that the state can weaponize.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kovrig said the export strategy mirrors how China has already made Canadian sectors like canola, pork and seafood \u201cexcessively\u201d depending on the Chinese marketplace, he added.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf China cuts off that trade, the people in those sectors face an economic catastrophe and are available running to Ottawa and are effectively attempting to lobby our government to do what the Chinese Communist Party wants it to do,\u201d Kovrig said.<\/p>\n

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