Canada announces ‘incremental increase’ in flights with China; move conducive to further enhancing bilateral ties: expert

The Canadian government announced on Monday (local time) an "incremental increase" in the number of direct flights permitted between Canada and China, as Ottawa aims to promote trade diversification, strengthen supply chains, boost tourism and help fuel Canada's economic growth, according to an official press release.

Chinese experts said that the move is conducive to enhancing people-to-people and trade exchanges between China and Canada, and reflects Ottawa's determination to boost cooperation and exchanges with China amid complex international economic and trade relations.

Canadian and Chinese airlines will be allowed to incrementally increase direct passenger-combination flights, and operate up to 20 all-cargo flights per week, according to a press release on the Government of Canada website, with "reciprocal access to all points in each country."

Building on Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney's visit to Beijing earlier this year, this measure delivers on the Canada-China Economic and Trade Cooperation Roadmap and supports the renewal of Canada's economic relationship with China, the press release said.

"Increasing passenger and cargo flights with China is a very positive step toward our trade diversification goals while also reinforcing our strong people-to-people ties. We are giving Canadian travelers more choice and more convenience while growing our commercial relationship with China," Canadian Transport Minister Steven MacKinnon was quoted as saying in the release.

"The Canadian side's move is a pragmatic recalibration of its China policy, framed within the outcomes of Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney's visit to China in January. This increase in flights is a direct response to sustained pressure from Canadian exporters and higher education institutions, aiming to tangibly repair the state of low-frequency engagement previously strained by diplomatic frictions," Liu Dan, a research fellow at the Center for Regional and Country Studies at Guangdong University of Foreign Studies, told the Global Times on Tuesday.

"First, the increase in flight services will directly reduce freight costs and transit times for high-value-added agricultural products and industrial components. This will help Canada diversify away from its over-reliance on exports to the US, bringing immediate benefits to China-Canada bilateral economic and trade cooperation," Liu said.

At the global economic level, amid ongoing geopolitical disruptions to transpacific shipping routes, increasing flights sends a stabilizing signal for trade corridors between North America and East Asia, preventing supply chain ruptures caused by bottlenecks in a single logistics channel, she said.

Flights between the two countries have been rising. Data from industry information provider VariFlight sent to the Global Times on Tuesday showed that between March 21 and April 20, there were 305 flights between the Chinese mainland and Canada, up 21 percent year-on-year.

"The Canadian side's move is a welcome and encouraging sign of carrying out the consensus reached during Carney's visit to China," Li Yong, an executive council member of the China Society for WTO Studies, told the Global Times on Tuesday.

Li said that amid complex and volatile global economic and trade conditions, Canada's actions to actively engage with China to enhance people-to-people exchanges and trade cooperation are sober and rational amid rising protectionism and unilateralism. 

"More open and closer cooperation between the two countries will only lead to improved trade and economic wellbeing for people in both countries. In doing so, Canada's economic and market development will be linked to China's market potential and dynamics," he said.

There have been frequent exchanges between Chinese and Canadian officials and businesses this year. Carney paid an official visit to China from January 14 to 17, the first trip to China by a Canadian prime minister in eight years. During the visit, Carney said that Canada will initially allow in up to 49,000 Chinese electric vehicles at a tariff rate of 6.1 percent on most-favored nation terms.

During Canadian Finance Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne's visit to China in early April, the two sides agreed to hold a China-Canada Economic and Financial Strategic Dialogue in the second half of this year, the Xinhua News Agency reported on April 3.

Li said that "those measures will also inject confidence into Chinese business communities looking for trade and investment opportunities in Canada. We can reasonably expect the healthy development of bilateral economic and trade cooperation going forward."

At this year's China International Consumer Products Expo (CICPE), which concluded in Haikou, South China's Hainan Province, on April 18, Canada was the guest country of honor. This year, Canada organized its largest-ever delegation, with about 40 companies participating in sectors including cosmetics, agricultural products, health products and pet food.

"We're very excited to be here as the guest country of honor… As the Chinese consumer market grows, there are 1.4 billion consumers. That's very important for Canada," Canadian Minister of International Trade Maninder Sidhu told the Global Times during the CICPE.

According to the Canada-China Business Survey 2025/2026 recently released by the Canada China Business Council, 86 percent of the respondents viewed China as a top or No.1 priority in their global strategies, while more than two-thirds said that they were preparing to expand their operations in China.