Canada seeks deeper trade links with Taiwan, as part of new China strategy
Canada's decision to pursue a foreign investment protection agreement with Taiwan, amid its ongoing tension with mainland China, was greeted Monday with widespread approval in trade and diplomatic circles.
International Trade Minister Mary Ng announced Canada's intention in a statement released by her office on Monday, that disclosed her Sunday telephone call with a Taiwanese minister. She said the island represented a key trade and investment partner as Canada tries to diversify its trade relations in the Indo-Pacific.
"The ministers discussed the need for Canada and Taiwan to continue to work together to further promote supply chain resilience and mutually beneficial commercial opportunities, as well as to increase collaboration on science, technology and innovation, education, Indigenous affairs, and the green economy," Ng's office said of her discussion with John Deng, Taiwan minister-without-portfolio.
Taiwan is self-governing but the Chinese government claims it as part of China and has raised the threat of possible annexation by staging military manoeuvres near the island and buzzing it with war planes.
China is usually critical of countries that trumpet their economic ties with Taiwan, but Meredith Lilly, a trade expert at Carleton University's Norman Paterson School of International Affairs, said the island is a full-fledged member of the World Trade Organization which makes it fair game for Canada to pursue deeper trade.
"Canada is launching an Indo-Pacific strategy that looks at trade prospects in the region that are beyond China and Taiwan is an important part of that," said Lilly. "Part of this is an important sovereignty issue for both Taiwan and Canada."
Lilly said last year's resolution of the Meng Wanzhou-two Michaels affairs reinforces the need for Canada to pursue other trading relationships beyond China. Meng was arrested on a United States extradition request in Vancouver in 2018. Her arrest was followed days later by China's imprisonment of Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor on charges of espionage, which Canada and many allies dismissed as nothing more than trumped-up retaliation.
The matter plunged Sino-Canadian relations to an all-time low. The Trudeau Liberals have joined other allies in speaking out against Chinese sabre rattling towards Taiwan, as well as human-rights clampdowns in Hong Kong and against the Muslim Uyghur population in China's western Xinjiang province.
Since September, when Meng returned to China and Kovrig and Spavor were freed and returned to Canada, the federal government has been continuing work on a new "Indo-Pacific" strategy -- a moniker that is commonly viewed in foreign-policy circles as shorthand for a regional approach that excludes China.
"It's very encouraging that Canada is choosing to enhance its relations with Taiwan while that country is facing economic and military threats from their neighbour, China," said Margaret McCuaig-Johnston, a University of Ottawa China expert, who spent more than three decades in the federal public service working on China issues.
McCuaig-Johnston and Lilly say Canada's trade overture to Taiwan is long overdue and could have important economic benefits. In particular, Taiwan is one of the world's leading producers of semiconductors, chips that power computers and mobile devices, and that have been in short supply for the past year and a half.
Guy Saint-Jacques, a former Canadian ambassador to China, said Taiwan plays by international trade rules and makes for a more reliable and predictable business partner than China.
"While China may protest as it is trying to cut oxygen to Taiwan, I have advocated for a while that we have to take steps to show more support to Taiwan, which is home to a vibrant democracy, this despite China's interference activities," he said.
Mark Warner, a Toronto-based international trade lawyer, said China may not be pleased with Canada pursuing a deeper bilateral trade arrangement with Taiwan, but Beijing would be far angrier if Canada supported Taiwan joining the Pacific Rim trade pact known as the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).
"That would really be a shot across the bow."
Neither Taiwan nor China are members of the CPTPP, but they applied separately to join in September. Canada, a member of the pact along with several other countries including Japan, Mexico and Australia, has not publicly endorsed the candidacy of new applicants.
Global Affairs says Taiwan is Canada's six-largest trading partner in Asia with two-way investment between them totalling $813 million in 2020.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 10, 2022.
IN DEPTH
Jagmeet Singh pulls NDP out of deal with Trudeau Liberals, takes aim at Poilievre Conservatives
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh has pulled his party out of the supply-and-confidence agreement that had been helping keep Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's minority Liberals in power.
'Not the result we wanted': Trudeau responds after surprise Conservative byelection win in Liberal stronghold
Conservative candidate Don Stewart winning the closely-watched Toronto-St. Paul's federal byelection, and delivering a stunning upset to Justin Trudeau's candidate Leslie Church in the long-time Liberal riding, has sent political shockwaves through both parties.
'We will go with the majority': Liberals slammed by opposition over proposal to delay next election
The federal Liberal government learned Friday it might have to retreat on a proposal within its electoral reform legislation to delay the next vote by one week, after all opposition parties came out to say they can't support it.
Budget 2024 prioritizes housing while taxing highest earners, deficit projected at $39.8B
In an effort to level the playing field for young people, in the 2024 federal budget, the government is targeting Canada's highest earners with new taxes in order to help offset billions in new spending to enhance the country's housing supply and social supports.
'One of the greatest': Former prime minister Brian Mulroney commemorated at state funeral
Prominent Canadians, political leaders, and family members remembered former prime minister and Progressive Conservative titan Brian Mulroney as an ambitious and compassionate nation-builder at his state funeral on Saturday.
Opinion
opinion Don Martin: Gusher of Liberal spending won't put out the fire in this dumpster
A Hail Mary rehash of the greatest hits from the Trudeau government鈥檚 three-week travelling pony-show, the 2024 federal budget takes aim at reversing the party鈥檚 popularity plunge in the under-40 set, writes political columnist Don Martin. But will it work before the next election?
opinion Don Martin: The doctor Trudeau dumped has a prescription for better health care
Political columnist Don Martin sat down with former federal health minister Jane Philpott, who's on a crusade to help fix Canada's broken health care system, and who declined to take any shots at the prime minister who dumped her from caucus.
opinion Don Martin: Trudeau's seeking shelter from the housing storm he helped create
While Justin Trudeau's recent housing announcements are generally drawing praise from experts, political columnist Don Martin argues there shouldn鈥檛 be any standing ovations for a prime minister who helped caused the problem in the first place.
opinion Don Martin: Poilievre has the field to himself as he races across the country to big crowds
It came to pass on Thursday evening that the confidentially predictable failure of the Official Opposition non-confidence motion went down with 204 Liberal, BQ and NDP nays to 116 Conservative yeas. But forcing Canada into a federal election campaign was never the point.
opinion Don Martin: How a beer break may have doomed the carbon tax hike
When the Liberal government chopped a planned beer excise tax hike to two per cent from 4.5 per cent and froze future increases until after the next election, says political columnist Don Martin, it almost guaranteed a similar carbon tax move in the offing.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
NDP needs to decide whether 4 million Canadians deserve dental care: minister
Procurement Minister and newly appointed Quebec lieutenant Jean-Yves Duclos is warning the NDP that the dental care program it helped put into place will be in jeopardy if it pulls its support from the governing Liberals.
How does your health measure up? Criticism of long-time tool used to track progress
Body mass index, a long-time tool used to measure a person's health, may soon be out the door as some health professionals push for a system they say is more accurate.
What is the U.S. Electoral College? America's path to the presidency, explained
In less than two months, Americans will go to the polls to choose their next president. But the process that translates those millions of votes into one seat in the Oval Office is much more complicated than a straight tally.
Coffee could be more than a morning pick-me-up, according to new research
A morning cup of coffee may do more than just perk you up, according to new research.
Kate, the Princess of Wales, makes first public appearance after cancer treatment
Kate, the Princess of Wales, made her first public appearance Sunday since she announced she had completed chemotherapy and would return to some public duties.
'Imminent catastrophe': Hezbollah hits back with more than 100 rockets across a wider and deeper area of Israel
Hezbollah launched more than 100 rockets early Sunday across a wider and deeper area of northern Israel, with some landing near the city of Haifa, as Israel launched hundreds of strikes on Lebanon. The sides appeared to be spiraling toward all-out war following months of escalating tensions.
Trump's goal of mass deportations fell short. But he has new plans for a second term
Donald Trump has long pledged to deport millions of people, but he's bringing more specifics to his current bid for the White House: invoking wartime powers, relying on like-minded governors and using the military.
Infectious disease physician Dr. Isaac Bogoch says whooping cough is most risky for unvaccinated infants, children and older people.
Sunken superyacht believed to contain watertight safes with sensitive intelligence data
Specialist divers surveying the wreckage of the US$40 million superyacht that sank off Sicily in August, killing seven people including British tech tycoon Mike Lynch, have asked for heightened security to guard the vessel, over concerns that sensitive data locked in its safes may interest foreign governments, multiple sources told CNN.
Local Spotlight
Cole Haas is more than just an avid fan of the F.W. Johnson Wildcats football team. He's a fixture on the sidelines, a source of encouragement, and a beloved member of the team.
Getting a photograph of a rainbow? Common. Getting a photo of a lightning strike? Rare. Getting a photo of both at the same time? Extremely rare, but it happened to a Manitoba photographer this week.
An anonymous business owner paid off the mortgage for a New Brunswick not-for-profit.
They say a dog is a man鈥檚 best friend. In the case of Darren Cropper, from Bonfield, Ont., his three-year-old Siberian husky and golden retriever mix named Bear literally saved his life.
A growing group of brides and wedding photographers from across the province say they have been taken for tens of thousands of dollars by a Barrie, Ont. wedding photographer.
Paleontologists from the Royal B.C. Museum have uncovered "a trove of extraordinary fossils" high in the mountains of northern B.C., the museum announced Thursday.
The search for a missing ancient 28-year-old chocolate donkey ended with a tragic discovery Wednesday.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police is celebrating an important milestone in the organization's history: 50 years since the first women joined the force.
It's been a whirlwind of joyful events for a northern Ontario couple who just welcomed a baby into their family and won the $70 million Lotto Max jackpot last month.