Champagne is leaving China and the pork tax is still in place, but it affects relationship building
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Although Chinese prices for Canadian pork products remain unchanged after a visit to China by Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne, he says the important task is to build relationships – and it is unrealistic to expect quick solutions.
“You can’t expect in one meeting to solve everything,” Champagne told CBC News on Friday at the end of his time in Beijing. “You plant seeds, you get involved.”
Canadian pork products still face a 25 percent surtax, which happened after Ottawa followed in Washington’s footsteps and implemented a surtax. 100% tax on Chinese electric cars.
The Chinese government has also imposed tariffs on agricultural products such as canola meal, but the Canadian government struck a deal in January to allow 49,000 Chinese electric vehicles into Canada at a reduced rate, to China is lowering or eliminating its tariffs on agricultural products.
Champagne acknowledged the trade that upsets pork and noted other prominent issues, such as seafood. But he emphasized that there is a strong desire between the Canadian and Chinese governments to work more closely together and work together when interests overlap.
“In a sense, my goal here was to change the perception [Prime Minister Mark Carney] in action,” said Champagne. “But anyone who has done business in this part of the world will know that you need to build relationships. This is not done.”
“You can’t expect to have more business if you don’t show up. Showing up is part of the job,” added Champagne.
Focus on financial services
At an earlier press conference on Friday, Champagne said he met with China’s Finance Minister Lan Fo’an and Vice Premier He Lifeng to discuss ways Canada’s financial sector can increase operations in the country.
These include Canadian banks getting more licenses to offer a wider range of services in China and expanding access to bond markets, he said.
“If you want to expand your trade, you need financial services. You need to be able to offer this type of services to exporters who want to do more in the Chinese market,” said Champagne.
The minister added that he expects Lifeng to visit Canada soon.
Champagne also said he raised Canada’s position on human rights and supply chain integrity requirements. This comes after Liberal MP Michael Ma appeared to question the use of forced labor in China during a parliamentary committee meeting last week.
“We talked about the integrity of the supply chain. That was the main message I conveyed to our Chinese partner – to say that, obviously, Canada places great importance on the integrity of the supply chain and that our foreign trade must be done according to international standards,” Champagne told reporters.
In his interview with CBC News, the finance minister said “he is very clear about where we stand on these issues.”
In a parliamentary committee on Thursday, Liberal MP Michael Ma asked Margaret McCuaig-Johnston of the China Strategic Risks Institute if she had personally seen forced labor in China. “I work a lot with Human Rights Watch where the researchers see firsthand,” McCuaig-Johnston said. Correction: The description of this video originally stated that Michael Ma asked about forced labor in Xinjiang, China. He was actually asking about Shenzhen.
While Champagne did not elaborate on how Chinese officials received the message, he said they “know exactly where I’m coming from, and I suspect they may have seen the media in Canada before my visit.”
Ma later apologized, saying he was asking about forced labor in Shenzhen, where most of China’s electric vehicles are located, not Xinjiang, where the Chinese government is accused of widespread abuse of Uyghurs.
On Monday, Carney defended Canada’s efforts to keep forced-made products out of the supply chain and said the country has “a strong chain of dialogue on this issue.”
“Mr Ma has apologized for his comments, as he should have done,” said Carney. “You can see the seriousness of the issue in that apology.”
