The prime minister made the comments when he was welcomed in Beijing by the second and third most powerful figures in China's political system: Premier Li Qiang and Zhao Leji, chairman of the standing committee of the National People's Congress.

"From energy to agriculture to people-to-people ties to multilateralism to issues on security, we believe that the spirit and the substance of these discussions, and these agreements, will provide great benefit to each of our peoples," Carney said at the outset of one of his meetings.

He added Ottawa hopes such a renewal will become an "example to the world of co-operation amidst a time globally of division and disorder."

Senior Canadian ministers signed a spate of memorandums of understanding with top Chinese officials on Thursday following an official welcoming ceremony.

While most of the talks took place in secret, media were allowed into the room to hear the beginning remarks of some of the meetings.

China's Premier Li Qiang hailed a "turnaround" in bilateral ties with Canada, calling it a "new starting point" for the two countries.

Li also said Carney's meeting with President Xi Jinping Friday will pave the way for "upward growth" in the relationship, according to the live translation provided by the Chinese government.

Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe, whose province is smarting from Chinese tariffs on canola products, sat at Carney's right side during that meeting, along with Liberal ministers and senior federal bureaucrats.

In an earlier meeting with Carney, Zhao said China looks forward to "new strategic guidance" from Ottawa on putting the relationship on a trajectory of "healthy, steady and sustainable development."

It's a marked change in tone from nearly a year ago, when Carney described China during the spring election as being the biggest threat to Canada on the world stage.

Carney was also in and out of a marathon of closed-door meetings with businesses throughout Thursday.

He met with top officials from firms such as Alibaba, China National Petroleum, the EV battery company Contemporary Amperex Technology, Primavera Capital Group, and China's state-owned commercial bank, ICBC.

It all signals that economic doors are starting to open between the two countries after nearly a decade of friction on trade, security and diplomacy.

The memorandums signed Thursday included provisions for sanitary oversight of pet food and animal health -- areas where Canada has long complained about trade irritants.

Since February 2022, exports of heat-treated dry pet food with poultry has been halted due to China's avian flu trade restrictions. One case of atypical BSE also led to a suspension of beef exports to China in 2021.

Canada had been frustrated by a limited willingness by Chinese officials to engage on those files, which stymied some Canadian agricultural exports.

The biggest trade sticking points have not yet been sorted: Canada's electric vehicle tariffs and China's duties on Canadian canola and agriculture products.

The prime minister meets with President Xi Jinping on Friday.

Carney said Thursday he is "heartened by the leadership of President Xi" and the "speed with which our relationship has progressed in recent months."

Framing the series of talks this week, Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand said the bilateral relationship is being "recalibrated."

But she stopped short of calling it a reset, and did not directly answer a pointed question about whether Canada still sees China as a disruptive power.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 15, 2026.