Customs duties: ‘The preliminary trade agreement with Ottawa does not target any third party’ (Spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry in charge of Foreign Affairs)

Kinshasa, January 26^th, 2026 (CPA). – The Chinese government has affirmed on Monday that its recent preliminary trade agreement with Canada does not target ‘any third party,’ after Donald Trump has threatened to retaliate and impose 100% customs duties on Canadian products, have reported international media. ‘China and Canada are establishing a new type of strategic partnership (…) This does not target any third party, serves the common interests of both peoples and also contributes to world peace, stability, development and prosperity,’ has declared Guo Jiakun, spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry in charge of Foreign Affairs. ‘For China, the relations between States should be based on a win-win logic, not a zero-sum game, and on the basis of cooperation, not on confrontation,’ he has added. According to the sources, the preliminary agreement between Beijing and Ottawa provides, among other things, for the entry into Canada of 49,000 electric vehicles manufactured in China at a preferential tariff rate of 6.1%. For his part, the Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney indicates that he is focusing in particular on seeking new markets in Asia and Europe in the face of the trade war started by the US President. It is in this context that he has sealed during the month in Beijing a preliminary but historic trade agreement aiming to eliminate barriers to trade and reduce customs duties with China.  For his part, President Donald Trump, opposed to this initiative, has said he would impose ‘100% tariffs’ on the Canadian imports to the United States in the event of a trade agreement between Canada and China. Furthermore, the US Minister in charge of Finance, Scott Bessent, has assured that the 100% surcharge mentioned by Donald Trump will be imposed if the Canadians sign a free trade agreement with China, i.e. if they go further and allow the Chinese to flood North America with their products.