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US NEWS 
By Brian Platt
Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney said he plans to meet his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping later this week when both leaders are at a summit in South Korea, aiming to firm up relations with the world’s second biggest economy while long-standing ties with the US fray.
The Canadian leader, speaking in Malaysia while on a three-nation Asia trip, said he plans to discuss bilateral commercial relations with Xi, along with a broader range of issues.
“We will pick up on the discussions I had with Premier Li in New York a few weeks ago,” he said, referring to a meeting on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly with China’s No. 2 official, Li Qiang.
Carney said the talks could see progress on easing travel restrictions between the countries, as well as on agriculture, fishery products and manufacturing for Canada.
The planned meeting with Xi comes amid fresh tensions with President Donald Trump, who recently called off trade talks and threatened additional tariffs. Trump has said he has no plans to meet Carney when they cross paths in the region.
Read More: Trump Says He Won’t Resume Canada Trade Talks ‘For a While’
Carney is seeking to balance his security interests, which overlap with Washington, against his country’s economic wellbeing, which is being tested by Trump’s aggressive trade war. His Asia tour is part of his recently announced goal to double Canada’s exports to markets outside the US within a decade to net an extra C$300 billion ($215 billion) in trade.
Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand recently traveled to China to help ease relations. That includes seeking relief from hefty Chinese tariffs against Canada’s canola, pork and seafood, while Carney has resisted lowering tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, steel and aluminum.
“We’re in the process of a resetting of expectations of where the relationship can go,” Carney said. “We’re starting from a very low base, and we can move quite substantially before we start to get to sensitive areas.”
Source: Bloomberg
Note: 2024 data
He added the discussions would include “the evolution of the global system,” a reference to the multilateral organizations and relationships that broadly govern global economic trends and security, such as the International Monetary Fund and UN. “This is one of the most influential actors in terms of the global system, such as it is.”
‘Energy Superpower’
Carney told reporters Asia will play a major role in reaching his ambition of doubling non-US exports. During his time in Malaysia to attend the Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit, he pitched Canada as an “energy superpower” with large reserves of oil, gas and critical minerals.
He and Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. agreed to “imminently” launch negotiations on a new free trade agreement between the two countries, with a goal of concluding it in 2026, Carney said.
Canada and Malaysia also signed a letter of intent to deepen investment in liquefied natural gas, oil, nuclear and renewable energy, and Carney met with Petronas Chief Executive Officer Tengku Muhammad Taufik. Carney intends to fast-track permitting of a second phase of the LNG Canada export facility in British Columbia, in which Petronas is a major investor.
Carney also said he accelerated negotiations on a Canada-ASEAN free trade agreement, including by putting forward C$25 million in technical assistance for the nations in the bloc. He next travels to Singapore, where he will tour port facilities and meet Prime Minister Lawrence Wong.
— With assistance from Laura Dhillon Kane
(Adds more details to bottom paragraphs, including talks on a Canada-Philippines trade deal.)
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