Canada’s China Reset: Middle Powers in a Fractured World Order with Prof Paul Evans, University of British Columbia

Canada has been in the headlines during US President Donald Trump’s second administration—not only because of Trump’s talk of Canada as a prospective “51st state”, but also due to Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s effort to reset Canada–China ties and rally cooperation among middle powers as the rules-based international order erodes, including through his remarks at the World Economic Forum in Davos.

In this episode of East Asia Pulse, Prof Paul Evans (Professor Emeritus, University of British Columbia and EAI Senior Fellow) speaks with Prof Frank Pieke (EAI Visiting Research Professor) about Carney’s vision for a new international trading system, Canada’s push to diversify trade beyond the US, and the legacy of China historian John King Fairbank—highlighting the continuing importance of empathy and scholarly rigour in interpreting China and US–China relations.

Key Highlights:

00:00 Canada, China, and middle-power strategy in the Trump 2.0 era
01:58 Carney’s China reopening and Davos agenda amid a weakening global trading order
03:51 Canada’s domestic divide: Diversify beyond the US vs deepen integration with the US
06:04 Issue-based plurilateral partnerships: flexible, interest-driven groupings
10:03 Can China fit into a new trade/order framework? Carney’s “China must be part of the future” argument
16:42 John King Fairbank in McCarthy-era politics
28:02 Today’s lesson: Managing the “friend of China” label while keeping analytical doors open

East Asia Pulse is a podcast produced by the East Asian Institute at the National University of Singapore (NUS). It provides in-depth analyses of political, economic and strategic trends in East Asia.

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