Carney and Xi blanket China’s front pages, but trade deal gets little attention

By Canadian Press on January 16, 2026.

Prime Minister Mark Carney’s meeting Chinese President Xi Jinping has received wide coverage from Chinese media, featuring on most state-owned outlets’ front pages.

But their stories that repeat an article by state-run news agency Xinhua make no mention of Canada’s deal with Beijing to slash tariffs on a fixed number of Chinese electric vehicles in exchange for China dropping duties on agriculture products.

People’s Daily, China’s main national newspaper, instead uses the page-one headline “Xi Jinping meets with Canadian Prime Minister Carney,” and a photo of the leaders shaking hands and smiling.

Friday’s story quotes Xi saying “both sides should hold the attitude of being responsible toward history, people and the world” while building a “new strategic partnership” and a healthy, stable and sustainable relationship.

The identical photo, headline and article appears on the front of many other Chinese news outlets and papers, including China Daily, Sina News, the Global Times, Shanghai Observer and the Nanfang Daily.

It is also carried on the home page of the Chinese government’s official website.

There are some exceptions, with Guancha.cn, a online portal for news commentary, featuring a file photo of Carney and an article headlined “Canadian prime minister says bluntly of major shift: China really is more reliable than America.”

The use of identical photos, headlines and stories of Chinese front pages is standard practice when Xi meets foreign dignitaries.

People’s Daily has also led its print edition in recent months with pictures of the Chinese president meeting leaders from countries including Ireland, South Korea, France, Tonga, Mozambique, and the Caribbean island nation of Dominica.

Despite the front page treatment in Chinese newspapers, coverage of Carney’s visit pales compared to that received when Justin Trudeau visited China in 2016.

In addition to his meeting with Xi, Chinese media covered Trudeau’s social media posts, his playing basketball with NBA legend Yao Ming, and a sit-down with Chinese tech magnate Jack Ma.

Trudeau received the nickname “little potato” during that visit, derived from his surname sounding like the Mandarin word for potato, tudou, and to differentiate him from his father.

It’s not clear if Carney has been bestowed with a Mandarin nickname.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 16, 2026.

Chuck Chiang, The Canadian Press