In modern conditions, the attention of the world community is increasingly concentrated on regional challenges, such as the crisis in Ukraine, energy policy, the situation around Iran, and others. At the same time, against the background of regional processes, large-scale transformations of the global order are taking place. One of the vivid manifestations of such transformations is the geopolitical rapprochement between China and Canada, which is clearly demonstrated by the visit of the Prime Minister of Canada, Mark Carney, to China in January 2026.
Kissinger 2.0
Prime Minister Carney is a political leader with a pronounced pragmatic and economic approach. Having experience working in the banking sector, he seeks to redirect Canada toward sustainable economic growth, viewing China as a key strategic economic partner under current conditions. Within the framework of his strategy, Carney is actively diversifying the Canadian economy, driven by tariff and trade challenges from the United States that arose as a result of the policies of the Donald Trump administration.
Canada’s geographic location, providing access to the Atlantic, Pacific, and Arctic Oceans, as well as the country’s vast territory and relatively low population density, creates additional opportunities for economic diversification and the expansion of international cooperation. Earlier, the possibility of closer integration of Canada with the European Union was discussed under the slogan “Europe needs territory, Canada – people.” However, the current actions of the Carney government indicate a more active development of a strategic partnership with China.
Carney’s historic visit, the first since 2017, proved to be a turning point and produced concrete results: Canada agreed to import 49,000 electric vehicles annually with a reduced tariff of 6.1%, while China lowered tariffs on Canadian agricultural products to 15%. Moreover, Canada has set an ambitious target to increase its exports to China by 50% by 2030, reflecting a long-term strategy of economic integration and diversification of trading partners. These developments carry particular significance against the backdrop of the 2018 arrest in Vancouver of one of Huawei’s executives at the request of the United States, which had previously constrained Canada–China economic relations.
Let us note that Carney’s visit has direct parallels with the historical experience of Henry Kissinger and Richard Nixon in the early 1970s, when the United States’ diplomatic initiative toward China led to a strategic rapprochement of the two powers, breaking the monolith of the communist bloc and opening China for Western economic and technological investments. As then, Carney arrived in Beijing, relying on economic pragmatism and strategic planning, which makes his visit the second historical instance in which the head of a major North American country visits Beijing for the purposes of economic and geopolitical cooperation. In the context of growing challenges to Greenland and increasing pressure from the United States, Canada needs to diversify its foreign economic partnerships.
Beijing’s Strategy
Chinese foreign policy demonstrates elements of continuity with the approaches applied during the Kissinger era. Historically, China derived benefit from an open economic and investment policy, attracting Western capital and international companies, which allowed it to become the world’s second-largest economy. At present, China seeks to use a similar methodology to strengthen its global position, taking advantage of strategic divergences in Western alliances.
The United States has traditionally relied on the ability to form alliances and blocs (NATO, ANZUS, AUKUS, QUAD, and others), which provided them with global influence. However, in recent years, elements of the national strategy implemented by the Trump administration have undermined the stability of these alliances, which forces Western states to seek alternative partners. In these circumstances, China actively uses opportunities to establish strategic and economic relations with major players on the international stage, including Russia, EU countries, Australia, and Canada.
Examples of this are the visits of European and Asian leaders to China in 2025: President of France Emmanuel Macron visited Beijing in December, Prime Minister of Australia Anthony Albanese – in July, and the Prime Minister of Canada – in January 2026. These diplomatic initiatives demonstrate that China is gradually restructuring the global system of interaction, involving in close cooperation states that have traditionally considered themselves part of the West.
In the context of the gradual shift of economic and political influence toward the Global South, one can expect the strengthening of multilateral platforms such as BRICS, including China, Russia, India, Brazil, Indonesia, and other countries. Canada and Australia could potentially integrate into these formats as partners with economic and technological potential. In the future, taking into account the trend of global economic shift to the South, major Western states will also seek to more actively engage in interaction with dynamically developing regions.
Conclusion
Thus, despite the fact that global attention is often focused on regional crises or individual high-profile events, fundamental transformations are occurring on a global scale. In the new world order, there is both convergence and divergence of key world powers, which shapes a new architecture of international economic and political relations. Historical parallels with the actions of Kissinger and Nixon in the 1970s emphasize that contemporary strategic initiatives, including Carney’s visit, have the potential to change the global balance of power in a manner similar to what occurred at the beginning of China’s era of openness to the Western world.
Islomkhon Gafarov, PhD in Political Science, Policy Analyst at the Center for Progressive Reforms, Senior Lecturer at the University of World Economy and Diplomacy, Tashkent, Uzbekistan.
Jamoliddin Rozimurodov, Associated Researcher at the Center for Progressive Reforms, Tashkent, Uzbekistan.