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China to allow visa-free access for Canadian visitors, reduce tariffs during Carney's visit
Canada's PM lauded a "new strategic partnership" between the two countries after he arrived for the talks at the Great Hall of the People
- PUBLISHED: Fri 16 Jan 2026, 2:01 PM
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- AFP
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China will allow Canadian visitors to enter the country visa-free, Prime Minister Mark Carney said on Friday after talks with President Xi Jinping in Beijing, as the two nations aim to thaw frosty relations.
"I'm very pleased to share that President Xi in our meeting today has committed to ensuring visa-free access for Canadians travelling to China," Carney said at a press conference in the Chinese capital.
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The Canadian Prime Minister and Chinese President began talks in Beijing on Friday, marking the first meeting between the countries' leaders in China's capital in eight years.
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Carney lauded a "new strategic partnership" between the two countries after he arrived for the talks at the Great Hall of the People.
Following President Donald Trump's aggressive tariffs on Canadian products, Carney has sought to reduce his country's economic reliance on its main market, the United States.
Carney told Xi that "together, we can build the best of what this relationship has been in the past to create a new one."
"Agriculture, energy, and finance – that's where we can make the most immediate progress," he added.
Carney then announced a deal with China's Xi Jinping on Friday to reduce tariffs on each country's products after the two leaders met in Beijing.
"Canada and China have reached a preliminary but landmark trade agreement to remove trade barriers and reduce tariffs," Carney told a news conference in the Chinese capital.
"By March the first, Canada expects that China will lower tariffs on Canadian canola seed. The combined rate of approximately 15 percent... this change represents a significant drop from the current combined tariff levels of 84 percent."
Canada will also allow 49,000 Chinese electric vehicles to be imported under new, preferential tariff rates, Prime Minister Mark Carney said Friday, after reaching a trade deal with China's leader Xi Jinping in Beijing.
"Canada has agreed to allow up to 49,000 Chinese electric vehicles into the Canadian market, with the most favoured nation tariff rate of 6.1 per cent," he told reporters.
"This is a return to the levels that existed prior to recent trade frictions."
Xi welcomed Carney and his delegation, saying that China-Canada relations were at a turning point after their last meeting at an APAC summit in October.
"It can be said that our meeting last year opened a new chapter in turning China–Canada relations toward improvement," Xi told Carney.
"The healthy and stable development of China–Canada relations serves the common interests of our two countries," he said, adding he was "glad" to see discussions over the last few months to restore cooperation.
