China Says Canada Deal Not Aimed At US After Tariff Threat

Beijing: China said on Monday that its preliminary trade deal with Canada “does not target any third party” after the United States threatened to impose 100 percent tariffs on Canadian products if the deal is completed.

Under the agreement announced this month, Beijing is expected to reduce customs duties on canola imports from Canada and allow Canadians visa-free travel to China.

But over the weekend, Canada’s traditional ally, the United States, threatened to impose 100 per cent tariffs on Canadian products, saying it would allow China to “unload goods” if the deal goes ahead.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said on Monday that the trade deal was not aimed at Washington.

“China and Canada have established a new kind of strategic partnership… it is not aimed at any third party,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said at a regular news conference. he said.

“China argues that nations should approach interstate relations with a win-win approach rather than a zero-sum mentality, and through cooperation rather than conflict,” he added.

The deal was announced during a visit to Beijing this month by Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, who is trying to distance himself from the unstable United States under President Donald Trump.

Canada and the United States have been locked in a trade war since the Trump administration imposed import tariffs on its northern neighbor.

On Sunday, Trump wrote on social media that negotiations between Ottawa and Beijing amounted to China’s “successful and complete takeover of the once Great Country of Canada.”

Following the president’s comments, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told US media: “We cannot allow Canada to become an opening for the Chinese to pour their cheap goods into the US.”