With Carney headed to China for trade talks, what’s in it for B.C.?

As Prime Minister Mark Carney prepares for a trade mission to China, British Columbian officials believe he could open the door to new markets for local industry.

The Prime Minister’s Office announced the trip Wednesday. The delegation will run from Jan. 13 to 17 and Carney is expected to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping to discuss trade, energy, agriculture and international security.

Adrian Dix, provincial energy minister, said the prime minister’s trip to China could benefit B.C.’s energy industry “at every level.”

“We’re hopeful that the prime minister will make the case, and I'm sure he will, for British Columbia LNG, the lowest emission LNG in the world, British Columbia mining, British Columbia ports, British Columbia projects and British Columbia,” Dix said.

LNG is made from natural gas, a fossil fuel often extracted from northeast B.C. and Alberta through a practice called hydraulic fracturing, or fracking. It’s often referred to as “clean” because burning it for fuel causes fewer emissions than coal or oil, but that claim is disputed by some analysts because of the energy and destruction it takes to produce it.

Dix said Canada has a “real advantage because of the strength of the B.C. economy and the new industries that we’re bringing here” and highlighted there are now four LNG projects under construction in B.C.

B.C. Jobs Minister Ravi Kahlon, who is headed to India for a trade mission with Premier David Eby, said it’s encouraging to hear Prime Minister Carney is on his own trip to China to build more trade networks.

He noted China is the world’s second largest economy.

“There’s a lot of economic opportunities,” Kahlon said. “There's already a lot of people-to-people connections, and if we want our economy to be resilient in this very turbulent time, we're going to need these relationships.”

B.C.’s last trade delegation to Asia, in June of last year, didn’t include China as a destination.

Kahlon said the provincial government relies on its federal counterpart to take the lead in country-to-country relationships.

He also said China and India could be major markets for the province’s forestry industry, which is struggling under U.S. tariffs.

“Having the federal government reconnect with the government from China, it creates that opportunity for us now to help promote forest products — but not only forest products.”

He noted B.C. is well-positioned to support China’s growing economy with its critical minerals and “cutting edge technologies.”

Kahlon said he’s not concerned about whether B.C. LNG is priced as competitively as other jurisdictions’, as he said Asian partners have stressed their priority is getting natural gas from a stable jurisdiction.

“They don’t want to be bullied. They don’t want to be harassed. They want to be able to continue to grow their economies and power their economies through reliable partners. And that's what we provide here in British Columbia.”

Vina Nadjibulla, vice-president of research and strategy at the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada, said the visit marks an important milestone in Canada-China relations, especially as tension grows with the Trump administration in the U.S.

She said conversations for new opportunities in the energy sector will be at the forefront, particularly around the expanded Trans Mountain pipeline and LNG Canada.

“Lots to watch there,” she said.

She said she expects to hear announcements in the energy sector and added there is a desire to see partnerships in green energy.

Other discussions will likely include China’s tariffs on Canada’s canola, seafood and pork, and Canada’s tariffs on Chinese EVs, according to Nadjibulla.