Carney and Xi blanket China’s front pages, but trade deal gets little attention

Annie Bergeron-Oliver breaks down Canada's trade deal with China, which removed punishing tariffs on Canadian canola in a move that garnered a strong reaction.

Prime Minister Mark Carney’s meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping has received wide coverage from Chinese media, featuring on most state-owned outlets’ front pages.

But their stories that repeat an article by state-run news agency Xinhua make no mention of Canada’s deal with Beijing to slash tariffs on a fixed number of Chinese electric vehicles in exchange for China dropping duties on agriculture products.

People’s Daily, China’s main national newspaper, instead used the page-one headline “Xi Jinping meets with Canadian Prime Minister Carney,” with a photo of the leaders shaking hands and smiling.

Friday’s story quoted Xi saying “both sides should hold the attitude of being responsible toward history, people and the world” while building a “new strategic partnership” and a healthy, stable and sustainable relationship.

The article also made note of Xi and Carney’s previous meeting last year at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in South Korea, calling it the start of an “environment for improved China-Canada relations.”

“In the 55 years since establishing official diplomatic ties, the relationship between the two countries has seen challenges and upheavals, leaving valuable historic experiences and revelations about realities,” the article said.

“China and Canada may have different situations, but should both respect each other’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, respect the paths that each other has taken in political structure and development, and insist on proper rules in engagement between nations.”

The identical photo, headline and article used by the People’s Daily also appeared on the front of many other Chinese news outlets and papers, including China Daily, Sina News, the Global Times, Shanghai Observer and the Nanfang Daily.

It was also carried on the home page of the Chinese government’s official website.

There were some exceptions, with Guancha.cn, an online portal for news commentary, featuring a file photo of Carney and an article headlined “Canadian prime minister says bluntly of major shift: China really is more reliable than America.”

The publication said in its commentary of Carney’s Beijing visit that the event “could be seen as a turning point in bilateral relations,” quoting Chinese international relations analyst Cheng Hongliang.

“Since 2018, the government of (former prime minister Justin) Trudeau has blindly followed and copied American policies toward China, taking harsh and erroneous positions toward China on several issues,” Cheng was quoted as saying. “It’s not until the Carney government’s establishment last year that the situation changed.”

Late 2018 saw the arrest of Chinese technology executive Meng Wanzhou in Vancouver following an indictment in the United States, leading to the detentions of Canadians Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor for several years in China.

Cheng’s commentary ended by noting “an obvious change in Canadians’ attitude toward China following a clearer recognition of the United States,” given the current trade conflict between Washington and Ottawa.

“From Canada’s point of view, while they cannot completely shake off the influence from the United States, they will also push forward its relations with China based on its own interests.”

The use of identical photos, headlines and stories on Chinese front pages is standard practice when Xi meets foreign dignitaries.

People’s Daily has also led its print edition in recent months with pictures of the Chinese president meeting leaders from countries including Ireland, South Korea, France, Tonga, Mozambique, and the Caribbean island nation of Dominica.

Despite the front-page treatment in Chinese newspapers, coverage of Carney’s visit has paled compared to that received when Trudeau visited China in 2016.

In addition to his meeting with Xi, Chinese media covered Trudeau’s social media posts, his playing basketball with NBA legend Yao Ming, and a sit-down with Chinese tech magnate Jack Ma.

Trudeau received the nickname “little potato” during that visit, derived from his surname sounding like the Mandarin word for potato, tudou, and to differentiate him from his father.

It’s not clear whether Carney has been bestowed with a Mandarin nickname.

Chuck Chiang, The Canadian Press