China urges Canada to break from US influence

As Canadian leader Mark Carney arrives in China on Wednesday, his hosts see an opportunity to peel the longtime US ally away from their rival, at least a bit. China’s State media is calling on the Canadian Government to set a foreign policy path independent of the United States — what it calls “strategic autonomy.”

Canada has long been one of America’s closest allies, geographically and otherwise. But Beijing is hoping that President Donald Trump’s economic aggression — and, now, military action — against other countries will erode that longstanding relationship. The Government bristled at former US President Joe Biden’s efforts to strengthen relations with Europe, Australia, India, Canada and others to confront China.

Now it sees an opportunity to try to loosen those ties, though it remains cautious about how far that will go. Carney, for his part, has focused on trade, describing the trip to China as part of a move to forge new partnerships around the world to end Canada’s economic reliance on the American market.