Prime Minister Mark Carney said he believes U.S. President Donald Trump has been “transformational” in his role for the way he has dealt with China.
After leading an election campaign focused on criticism of Trump, Carney praised the U.S. president when the two met at the White House on May 6.
“You’re a transformational president,” Carney said at the beginning of the meeting after thanking Trump “above all” for his leadership.
In speaking to reporters in Ottawa on May 21, Carney was asked to explain in what way Trump has brought positive transformation.
“Well, for a number of years, he’s been clearer on risks involving geopolitical competition from China,” Carney said in French. He added the president had changed the United States’ geo-strategic policy towards China during his first term, and said it had been carried through by the Biden administration.
Trump “is clear on existing risks in a number of areas around the world,” Carney said, adding Trump has “clarity” on China.
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“Starting from his first presidency, [he had] clarity about geopolitical and economic competition from China,” Carney said.
“He’s right about that. There’s been a reaction to that that has changed aspects of the game, and there are other aspects like that,” he added, without elaborating.
While Trump has sought to have a good relationship with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, he has made it clear that he intends to address trade imbalances with China and counter other practices impacting U.S. prosperity and security.
Trump imposed tariffs on China early in his second term, accusing the country of subsidizing and incentivizing Chinese companies to export fentanyl and precursor chemicals to the United States. Trump later imposed additional steep “reciprocal” tariffs on China, which was followed by retaliation. The two countries agreed to a partial retraction on May 12, with a 90-day pause on high tariffs.
The Trump administration also aims to rebuild its industrial base, saying U.S. companies have left to other jurisdictions, such as China, to benefit from free trade.
“There’s something called the ‘China shock,’ which has gutted our manufacturing sector,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told MSNBC on May 12. “Nobody wants to do a generalized decoupling but we are going to do a strategic decoupling because we realized during COVID that efficient supply chains were not secure supply chains.”
Trade is not the only concern, as China continues to make advances in military development.
At his first address to NATO members in February, U.S. Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said his country faces a “peer competitor in the Communist Chinese, with the capability and intent to threaten our homeland and core national interests in the Indo Pacific.” Hegseth said the U.S. priority is to deter war with China.
Carney also identified China as a threat on May 21 when taking questions about Canada’s interest in joining Trump’s “Golden Dome” project, a new air defence system to counter advanced missile and drone threats.
“Is it a good idea for Canada? Yes, it’s a good idea to have protection against missiles,” Carney said. “There are threats now coming from North Korea, China. There are genuine threats facing Canada.”
During the party leaders’ debate in April, Carney had identified China as posing the “biggest security threat” to Canada. He elaborated a day after that the threat pertains to foreign interference and China’s growing interest in the Arctic. It’s “one of the reasons why we’ll now have a year-round presence in the Arctic,” he said.
Carney faced some China-related controversies during the election campaign, including for rejecting calls to drop a Liberal candidate who had suggested his rival, a Hong Kong democracy activist, should be brought to the Chinese consulate to collect the bounty on his head.
The elections security task force also warned during the election campaign that Beijing was seeking to influence Chinese-Canadians on Carney by way of an information operation. One of the messages being promoted by the operation was that Carney would improve relations with China.
Chandra Philip contributed to this report.
