09:02 AM EST, 01/09/2025 (MT Newswires) -- China says it's willing to deepen economic relations with Canada as this country's trading relationship with the United States hits a rough patch, The Globe and Mail newspaper is reporting.

It noted The People's Republic of China is Canada's second-largest trading partner after the U.S. and, in 2017, Ottawa came close to starting talks with Beijing on a trade agreement.

In 2019, China restricted imports of several Canadian products, including canola seed, in apparent retaliation for Ottawa arresting a Chinese tech executive. The value of the economic fallout -- billions in lost sales ---pales in comparison to the threat U.S. president-elect Donald Trump has made to Canada, vowing 25% tariffs on all Canadian goods when he takes office. Canadian exports to the U.S. in 2023 exceeded $592-billion.

China's embassy in Ottawa said in a recent statement to The Globe and Mail that it's willing to talk about increasing trade and ties. It was responding to a question about whether China would be interested in resuming talks on a trade agreement with Canada given the trade threats from the U.S.

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