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China 'sending a message' to the U.S. by deepening ties with Canada: expert | Power & Politics

CBC News – Power & Politics, May 28, 2026

Featuring: Vina Nadjibulla, Vice-President, Research & Strategy, APF Canada

Excerpt: Nadjibulla told CBC News that this visit by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi "shows that China cares about this relationship [with Canada] as well, that they want to advance the new partnership and they want to discuss issues that matter to them as well."

She adds that amid Canada's uncertain relationship with the U.S., the visit is "good propaganda and good messaging for China to show that it’s able to create more...division between Washington and Ottawa."

"While Canada is moving forward with China, we're not naive or blind to the fact that there are structural issues and there are limits to what we can do while we are also trying to preserve preferential access to the U.S."

China's Foreign Minister Visits Canada for First Time in a Decade

CPAC, May 28, 2026

Featuring: Vina Nadjibulla, Vice-President, Research & Strategy, APF Canada

Excerpt: Nadjibulla says that "Wang Yi's visit is really about implementation, about really getting down to business and figuring out what specifically Canada and China can do together. What are the sectors in which we will be doing more together, and what are those guardrails that we often hear about from Prime Minister Carney... about being clear-eyed?"

She adds that while the usual suspects in bilateral negotiations will be on the table for discussion, like trade and investment, there is also a "trilateral element" to this meeting. Nadjibulla says that the messaging from Yi's meeting will also be heard and assessed in the U.S.

Canadian warship transits Taiwan Strait despite China’s warning

The Globe and Mail, May 28, 2026

Featuring: Vina Nadjibulla, Vice-President, Research & Strategy, APF Canada

Excerpt: Nadjibulla said Canada’s behaviour in the South China Sea and East China “was being watched closely,” in Asian capitals from Beijing to Tokyo to Taipei as well as Australia and in the United States.

She said it’s a strong signal that Canada will plot its own course in the Indo-Pacific.

It’s the first time Canada has used the route since Mr. Carney’s visit to China in January and the announcement of the new strategic partnership with Beijing.

“It shows that Canada is committed to upholding international law and ensuring that international waterways, such as Taiwan Strait, are free for passage for all, including Canada,” Ms. Nadjibulla said.

“We have to advance multiple objectives at the same time: deepening some economic engagement with China, which is going to be the purpose of the Wang Yi visit, while also standing firm on our overall national-security agenda.”

Chinese foreign minister's visit to Canada a 'positive sign': trade minister

The Canadian Press (via Yahoo Finance), May 27, 2026

Featuring: Vina Nadjibulla, Vice-President, Research & Strategy, APF Canada

Excerpt: Vina Nadjibulla, vice-president of research and strategy at the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada, told The Canadian Press the planned visit is "significant."

"We'll see what the discussions are like, especially when it comes to investment, to sensitive areas like EVs, batteries," she said.

Nadjibulla also said the fate of Taiwan could come up during the visit.

Is Asia being overlooked amid Carney’s European focus?

The Hill Times, May 27, 2026

Featuring: Vina Nadjibulla, Vice-President, Research & Strategy, APF Canada

Excerpt: Nadjibulla called Carney’s comment on Europe’s place in a new world order “a little bit perplexing.”

“It’s difficult to imagine that the next global order will be built out of Europe given the significance of the Indo-Pacific,” she said. “There’s a recognition that Canada is much more interested, and much more visible, and much more relevant in the region...That is largely credited to Prime Minister Carney’s own vision of a pragmatic foreign policy.”

She said that Canada getting closer to Europe while doing more in the Indo-Pacific is a complementary process, highlighting Carney’s desire to see bridges built between Canada’s trade deal with the EU and the CPTPP.

Nadjibulla said Canada is still implementing Canada's Indo-Pacific Strategy while it’s being reviewed and updated. “Bottom line, the strategy needs to be updated. It needs to be launched as a second phase with additional resources. And new language around China [and] around India, as well as a greater focus on energy … as well as AI and technology and innovation and services,” she said.

India, Canada negotiating a 'game changer' free trade deal: 'We're working fast'

Hindustan Times, May 26, 2026

Featuring: Vina Nadjibulla, Vice-President, Research & Strategy, APF Canada

Excerpt: Remarking on Carney meeting a visiting Cabinet Minister, Vina Nadjibulla, vice-president research and strategy for the Asia-Pacific Foundation of Canada, said, “This is a testament to his interest in deepening the relationship and also to the strategic nature of the relationship.” She said it was significant because it signals the desire to build a “genuine partnership” beyond the trade and commercial aspect of ties.

She added the “overall messaging” also underscored the fact that the Indian side “recognizes Prime Minister Carney’s leadership in the relationship.”

India's trade minister says visit by Canada's Carney reset ties after 2023 killing of Sikh activist

Associated Press (via ABC News), May 26, 2026

Featuring: Vina Nadjibulla, Vice-President, Research & Strategy, APF Canada

Excerpt: Vina Nadjibulla, Vice-President, Research & Strategy at the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada, said both countries are looking to diversify their relationships and reduce their dependence on the United States, increasingly seen as unreliable by some partners.

India recently signed trade deals with the European Union, the United Kingdom and New Zealand.

“India is now pivoting to Europe as well as to other Western economies like Australia and Canada to be able to meet its needs for capital, technology and innovation,” said Nadjibulla.

CBC's Aarti Pole speaks with Vina Nadjibulla of the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada

CBC News, May 25, 2026

Featuring: Vina Nadjibulla, Vice-President, Research & Strategy, APF Canada

Excerpt: Nadjibulla says this "significant visit... builds on the reset in the Canada-India relationship that was launched by Prime Minister Carney a year ago."

As the reset aims to "accelerate the free trade negotiations that are now happening between Canada and India... Minister Goyal's visit to Canada is in some ways keeping up that momentum." She adds that the delegation is made up of "Indian businesses who are interested in doing more with Canada... this is about building confidence, about showcasing that there is a lot of opportunity" between the two economies.

"There is a lot of complementarity, but Canada and India need to spend a lot more time getting to know each other."

India's commerce minister says Carney's recent visit helped reset relations

The Canadian Press (via BNN Bloomberg), May 20, 2026

Featuring: Vina Nadjibulla, Vice-President, Research & Strategy, APF Canada

Excerpt: “Vina Nadjibulla, vice-president of research and strategy at the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada, said in an interview that there is political will on both sides to move as quickly as possible on a free trade agreement.

She said both countries are looking to diversify their relationships and reduce their dependence on the United States. India recently signed trade deals with the European Union, the United Kingdom and New Zealand.

“With the U.S. becoming unreliable, India is now pivoting to Europe as well as to other Western economies like Australia and Canada to be able to meet its needs for capital, technology and innovation."

India is also "completely dependent on exports of gas and (liquefied petroleum gas) and about 50 per cent of that comes from the Middle East and by way of Hormuz,” she said. “India is very much in the market now to find other sources for its energy needs.”

Canada-US relations ahead of the World Cup

Radio Télévision Suisse, May 21, 2026

Featuring: Jeff Nankivell, President & CEO, APF Canada

Excerpt: Nankivell says that a "majority of Canadians feel they need to distance themselves from the U.S., compared to the relations they had before" the second Trump Administration. "But it is with a lot of regrets, sincere regrets."

He adds that "Canadians believe that they were the ones who were rejected by the government of the United States."

Canadian Ambassador presents investor to PM Xanana to invest in TL

Tatoli, May 21, 2026

Featuring: Barrett Bingley, Asia Regional Director (Singapore Office), APF Canada

Excerpt: “Canadian Ambassador to Timor-Leste, Jess Dutton, said he and the delegation were honoured to meet the Prime Minister, to discuss cooperation services that they prioritize investing in."

He also said that "Canada is very proud to have provided $15 million in concessional funding for the new solar park being built" and is interested in exploring other future investment opportunities.

Canadian investors explore investment opportunities in Timor-Leste

Tatoli, May 21, 2026

Featuring: Barrett Bingley, Asia Regional Director (Singapore Office), APF Canada

Excerpt: “The Ambassador of Canada to Indonesia and Timor-Leste, Jess Dutton, on Thursday held a productive bilateral meeting with Xanana Gusmão at the Government Palace in Dili.

...During the meeting, Ambassador Jess Dutton introduced a delegation comprising representatives from the Canada-ASEAN Business Council, the Asia pacific Foundation of Canada, BlackBerry Government Solutions, National Bank of Canada and export Development Canada (EDC), who are seeking to explore investment opportunities in the country."

Most Canadians look unfavourably on India, trade minister told

The Logic, May 20, 2026

Featuring: Vina Nadjibulla, Vice-President, Research & Strategy, APF Canada

Excerpt: “In a report published in March shortly after Carney’s visit to Mumbai and New Delhi, the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada said trade between Canada and India was already performing below expectations and Canada is now at risk of getting crowded out by others. “Without preferential access,” the think tank wrote, “Canadian exporters would risk a gradual erosion of their competitiveness in one of the world’s fastest-growing markets.”

Vina Nadjibulla, vice-president of research and strategy at the Asia-Pacific Foundation, said much has evolved since Ottawa last consulted with Canadians on a trade deal with India in 2009.

“The world is in a very different place,” Nadjibulla said in an interview. “Canada’s diversification imperatives are now much more urgent and India is a much more powerful economy now.”

The case for diversifying Canada’s trade partners

The Logic, May 19, 2026

Featuring: Vina Nadjibulla, Vice-President Research & Strategy, APF Canada

Excerpt: “For Canada to diversify its trading relationships and to reduce overreliance on the U.S., it needs to look at the Indo-Pacific. That’s where there is the greatest potential for deeper economic partnerships,” says Vina Nadjibulla.

...To build relationships with Indo-Pacific countries, Nadjibulla says Canada needs to move away from a transactional approach to trade toward more comprehensive partnerships.

She says that the like-minded democratic nature of certain countries, in addition to their economic importance to Canada, makes them primary partner prospects. “With Korea, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand, we can have comprehensive strategic partnerships that look at everything from economy to intelligence sharing to defence industrial production.”

(Note: This piece was sponsored by Hanwha Ocean and produced independently of The Logic’s newsroom in consultation with the advertiser).

Leaders dial up diplomacy: String of diplomatic visits by global leaders to shore up ties

CNA, May 18, 2026

Featuring: Vina Nadjibulla, Vice-President Research & Strategy, APF Canada

Excerpt: "For Prime Minister Modi, I think 2026 is a year of deepening engagement with Europe...he's prioritizing countries that, at a first glance, may not seem like major powers in Europe [such as] The Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden, but they are major technological and innovation hubs."

Nadjibulla says this push by India for strengthened European relations comes "in the context of strained relations with the U.S. because, until recently, India was really banking on the U.S. as its major partner for technology, innovation and investment. Now it has to diversify."

She adds that India "offers scale and a large market" for European economies facing a strained relationship with China. If this partnership between European partners and India is "pursued correctly... [and] the free trade agreement is implemented, [this] could be one of the most consequential relationships of the century."

Consequences of Sino-American relations on Canada: David Savoie

ICI Radio-Canada, May 15, 2026

Featuring: Vina Nadjibulla, Vice-President Research & Strategy, APF Canada

Excerpt: Nadjibulla says "that it's going to become really difficult" to manage a sustainable, effective relationship with Beijing "if essentially [Canada] is forced to simply import products from China."

"That's exactly what happened in the solar energy sector with solar panels. That's what's happening now with electric vehicles, and it's going to happen in more and more sectors where China dominates. This essentially leads to deindustrialization in other countries. So I think the economic security pressures coming from China are very real. That's what Japan is feeling, that's what Europe is feeling, and that's what the countries of Southeast Asia are feeling."

U.S. President Returning to Washington

CTV News, May 6, 2026

Featuring: Jeff Nankivell, President & CEO, APF Canada

Excerpt: Nankivell says that there are "a lot of conversations that are underway" between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, despite no apparent "breakthroughs" from their recent meeting in Beijing.

"The atmospherics were quite positive on the Chinese side. They are using a new phrase, 'constructive, strategic stability,' and on the American side they're talking about co-operation."

He adds that the meeting represents a "continued easing of tensions between these two superpowers and, for Canada, that means there's a little more room for autonomy ... to carve out its own relationship with China."

Canada pushes to finalise Asean trade deal to cut US reliance

SCMP, May 15, 2026

Featuring: Rachael Gurney, senior Project Specialist, International Trade & Investment, APF Canada

Excerpt: “ASEAN is a central component to Canada’s trade diversification strategy and is framed as the key to trade, investment and supply chain resilience in the Indo-Pacific Strategy,” said Rachael Gurney, a senior project specialist in international trade and investment at the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada.

Gurney added that Canada had already strengthened its foothold in the region through the Canada-ASEAN Strategic Partnership, its Indo-Pacific focus and government-led trade missions targeting key markets.

According to figures from the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada, Canadian companies invested C$40 billion in ASEAN member states between 2003 and 2024, representing 12 per cent of total Canadian investment in the Indo-Pacific.

FROM TIDE TO TARMAC: A fast-growing trade corridor is redefining B.C.’S seafood industry.

BC Business Magazine, May 15 (June edition), 2026

Featuring: Jeff Nankivell, President & CEO, APF Canada

Excerpt: The PM’S challenge to double exports from Canada to non-u.s. nations was a hot topic at this spring’s Canada-in-Asia Conference in Singapore, where business leaders, diplomats and policymakers gathered to strengthen ties between Canadian exporters and Asian markets. Organized by the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada—the country’s only dedicated organization focused on strengthening relationships with Asia—the event drew roughly 660 attendees from across the globe with about one-third travelling from Canada.

The goal is simple: create the networks Canadian companies need to operate in a relationship-driven region—something CEO and president Jeff Nankivell, who spent 33 years in Canada’s foreign service, deeply understands about operating abroad. “There’s no substitute for being there in person,” Nankivell says. “If Canadian companies want to do business in Asia, they have to be in the room, building those relationships.”

Infrastructure plays a central role in that effort. “We need to continue expanding passenger capacity and air connections,” notes Nankivell. “When those flights grow, the cargo capacity grows with them.”

McGuinty declines to say whether Canada would send more ships through Taiwan Strait

The Globe and Mail, May 15, 2026

Featuring: Vina Nadjibulla, Vice-President Research & Strategy, APF Canada

Excerpt: Vina Nadjibulla, vice-president of research and strategy at the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada, said China finds itself in a more powerful position today because of the protectionist actions of the Trump administration, which have fragmented and alienated Western allies that previously had assembled a common front to deal with China under the Biden administration.

“China has a lot of leverage and is finding itself in a position of strength, so I think they are going to put increasing pressure on everyone, Canada included,” she said. Nadjibulla said Canada should continue to “exercise freedom of navigation to treat Taiwan Strait as international waters, and ideally do so in partnership with Australia, with the United States and with Europeans.”

She pointed out that Canada sailing the Taiwan Strait was welcomed by countries in the region. She said Canada is charting a separate course with China from the U.S. and despite criticism from the Trump administration.

“Our policy on China should not be dictated by Washington, and our policy on Taiwan should not be dictated by Beijing,” Ms. Nadjibulla said.

Dans l'actualité

Réactions médiatiques de la FAP Canada aux derniers enjeux et événements en Asie