Carney explains why China relationship is 'predictable'
Ashley Burke
Canada's relationship with China 'more predictable' than relationship with U.S., PM says
5 hours ago|
Duration1:48
Prime Minister Mark Carney, speaking to reporters in Beijing on Friday after making a preliminary deal with China on a range of issues, said Canada’s relationship with the U.S. is 'more multi-faceted' and much deeper than Canada's relationship with China — but noted that ties with China have become more predictable in recent months.
I'm Ashley Burke, a senior reporter with CBC's parliamentary bureau and part of a group of journalists in Beijing travelling with the prime minister, where he announced some tariff relief for Canada's agriculture sector.
Canadian and Chinese journalists packed tightly together in the cold at Carney's news conference in one of the city's famous parks, known as the "Temple of the Sun."
The New York Times' Canada bureau chief, Matina Stevis-Gridneff, picked up on a comment Industry Minister Mélanie Joly made to us during a scrum on Thursday.
Joly said in French that the conversations with China have been happening in a more predictable and stable way, compared to with other countries "like our neighbour."
Stevis-Gridneff asked Carney if it's fair for him to conclude China is a more predictable and reliable partner today than the U.S.
Carney started his response by saying he would answer "with respect to the relations with China." He said during talks in Beijing, Canada and China had "candid" conversations about where they could co-operate and where they had differences of opinion, which leads to a "more predictable and effective relationship."
But by the end of his answer, Carney said he would make one comparison. He called Canada's relationship with the U.S. "much more multifaceted, much deeper, much broader than it is with China."
"But yes, in terms of the way that our relationship has progressed in recent months with China, it is more, it is more predictable and you see results coming from that," he said.
