China’s Imports From Canada Drop 10.4% in 2025 Ahead of Carney’s Beijing Visit

China bought fewer goods from Canada in 2025 for the first time since 2020, according to Chinese customs data released on Wednesday—just hours before Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s scheduled arrival in Beijing. Imports from Canada fell 10.4% to $41.7 billion, down from an all-time high in 2024, marking the first annual decline since the pandemic-driven drop in 2020.

Carney is set to visit China in the first trip by a Canadian prime minister since 2017, in a move expected to focus on repairing ties strained by years of tensions. Relations worsened in 2024 when former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau imposed 100% tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, mirroring action taken by the Biden administration. Carney confirmed his visit in a social media post, stating that China is Canada’s second-largest trading partner and stressing the need for a “pragmatic and constructive relationship” to enhance stability and prosperity on both sides of the Pacific.

The Beijing trip follows Carney’s October meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in South Korea, where both leaders agreed to advance bilateral engagement despite unresolved trade disputes such as Chinese restrictions impacting Canadian canola. Canada’s renewed outreach also comes amid efforts to diversify export markets after U.S. President Donald Trump imposed tariffs on Canadian goods and reignited controversial remarks about Canada potentially becoming the “51st U.S. state.” Chinese state media has urged Ottawa to show “strategic autonomy” from Washington, while Chinese imports from the United States also fell in 2025, declining 14.6% year-on-year.

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