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Mark Carney's trip to China 'was never just a courtesy call,' Michael Kovrig says
Michael Kovrig, a former Canadian diplomat and Chinese detainee, weighed in on Canada’s newly announced trade arrangements with China following Prime Minister Mark Carney’s meetings with President Xi Jinping this week.
In a series of social media posts on Saturday, Kovrig, who spent more than three years in the Chinese Communist Party’s custody following the arrest of a Huawei executive in 2018, warned that the long-term risks could outweigh the short-term economic relief.
On Friday, Carney announced a deal that would allow 49,000 Chinese-manufactured electric vehicles (EVs) into Canada annually at a tariff rate of six per cent, down from the 100 per cent tariff announced by the previous Liberal government in lock-step with the previous U.S. administration. In exchange, China has agreed to reduce tariffs on some Canadian canola products, excluding canola oil, and certain seafood products from between 25 and 85 per cent to either zero or 15 per cent.
In one post on X , Kovrig said the visit, the first by a Canadian prime minister since 2018, “was never just a courtesy call.” He posited that China was in search of tangible wins on EV access, energy and political cooperation.
“With Canada–U.S. relations under strain, the General Secretary smelled blood in the water and seized a moment of increased leverage,” Kovrig wrote.
“Carney secured limited relief for farmers and reopened dialogue channels, but Xi kept his pressure tools and is sure to keep using them.”
What to make of PM Carney’s first official visit to China? This was never just a courtesy call. Xi Jinping framed the visit as a “turning point” because the CCP wants concrete things from Canada, including market access for its hypersubsidized EVs, stable energy supplies, and… pic.twitter.com/UEfL5UgFmF
— Michael Kovrig (@MichaelKovrig) January 17, 2026
He compared the situation to a “rope-a-dope,” in which one side takes blows to wait out long-term advantage in a fight and said Canada should diversify exports “for vulnerable sectors” and figure out how to protect its own vehicle industry and “cybersecurity defences” amidst an influx of Chinese EVs.
In another post, he said Canada “should be able to sell China commodities like food and energy without weakening its national security.” He warned, however, that too much reliance on the Chinese market affords the CCP even more political leverage.
“That’s how pressure and elite capture accumulates — quietly, agreement by agreement, not through one dramatic concession,” he wrote.
“The lesson? Start small, keep deals reversible, protect the industrial base, and draw red lines around national security, foreign interference, coercion, and human rights abuses.
China’s Xi told Canada’s Carney their two governments should “adhere to the proper way for states to get along with one another.” Question: Does the “proper way” now include NOT taking citizens hostage and torturing them to coerce policy changes? pic.twitter.com/kRa9og0l3a
— Michael Kovrig (@MichaelKovrig) January 17, 2026
Kovrig also opined on Chinese steel, highlighting a January 2025 ruling from Canada’s International Trade Tribunal that determined that steel strapping dumped from China had caused injury to Canadian producers, leading to new anti-dumping and countervailing duties.
He said the case is an example of the importance of keeping trade enforcement separate from diplomatic matters. “Dialogue with Beijing can continue, but it shouldn’t dilute investigations, penalties, or expectations around compliance,” he posted.
Kovrig also took issue with the optics of the visit, writing on another post with a video of Carney and Jinping shaking hands: “Diplomacy is necessary. Grinning is optional. This is not a good look.”
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