China threw a heavy punch, and as soon as the new rare earth export control regulations came out, global nerves instantly tightened. Just when the outside world thought that the western camp would hold a group and fight back tough, this "familiar face" of Canada quietly knocked on Beijing's door.
This country, which has stood behind the United States for many years and once fell into a trough in its relations with China, chose to "reverse operations" this time and took the initiative to show kindness, eye-catching.
Canadian Foreign Minister Anand visited China on the occasion of the 55th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Canada, and the timing was quite particular. she It not only proposes to restart cooperation, but also brings the so-called "four pillars" framework and even invites Chinese enterprises to invest in Canada。
This makes it difficult to understand why, after China launched this “rare-earth nuclear bomb”, Canada chose “single flight”?
An unexpected visitor.
On October 17th, Canadian Foreign Minister Anand visited Beijing and held face-to-face talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. This visit surprised many people. After all, just two years ago, China-Canada relations fell to freezing point due to the Meng Wanzhou incident. Today, Canada has not only offered to restart cooperation, but also put forward a "four-pillar" cooperation framework, covering economy, trade, security, global governance and humanities exchanges, with a positive attitude.
Canada made it clear that it welcomed Chinese enterprises to invest in Canada, and also stressed its hope to "stabilize and deepen" bilateral economic relations. These remarks, in the current tense background between China and the United States, are quite "going against the wind".
Although Canada has large reserves of rare earths, there are serious faults in the industrial chain. Especially in refining and separation technology, it relies almost entirely on imports. In contrast, China has the world's most advanced rare earth purification technology, the extraction rate of the third generation separation process is as high as 95%, and the cost control ability far exceeds that of other countries. If you want to catch up with this level in a short period of time, it is as difficult as climbing to the sky without relying on China.
In addition to rare earth, Canada's reliance on the Chinese market has long penetrated into several areas. oil, gas, pork, seed oil, without exception, need China this "super buyer".
In the context of global economic pressure and shrinking export channels, retaining the Chinese market is Canada’s most practical option at the moment.
But the significance of this visit is not limited to the economic level.The diplomatic “tuning” is equally remarkable.
Canada is the closest ally of the United States, but has begun to show relatively independent gestures on some key issues, such as Trump, who has publicly dismissed Canada’s trade policy during his tenure and has also threatened in private talks to “annex” certain Canadian resources.
Today, in the context of the U.S. frequently pushing for “disconnection” with China, Canada’s visit to China is, to some extent, a moderate response to U.S. unilateralism. The "insistence on multilateralism and opposition to confrontation" proposed by Foreign Minister Wang Yi in the talks also appears to be hitting the "soft rib" of Canadian diplomatic tradition.
The magic of rare earths
A few days ago, China officially announced the inclusion of 17 rare earth elements and related technologies in its export control list and the introduction of an "end-use traceability mechanism". The entire process from resource mining to terminal use of rare earths will be controlled.
This new rule, somewhat like a “key lock” in the rare-earth area, This action is regarded by the outside world as a strategic trump card, and some people call it a "rare earth nuclear bomb". It not only changed the direction of the global supply chain, but also directly disrupted the strategic deployment of Western countries.
The United States accelerated cooperation with Australia and Canada in the field of rare earth, while the European Union began to promote the "key raw material law", hoping to get rid of China's dependence as soon as possible.
For example, the United States is trying to develop rare earth resources in Ukraine and Mongolia, but the infrastructure is insufficient, the political risks are high, and the development costs are huge. Europe wants to find new suppliers in Africa, but suffers from immature technology and frequent environmental protection problems.
More importantly, western countries are collectively stuck in front of the "technical threshold" of rare earth purification, which cannot replace China's mature system in the short term.
The essence of this game is not only to compete for resources, but also to compete for rules.
With this new rule, China has transformed itself from a simple “resource supplier” to a “judge” and “technologist” in the supply chain. It not only improves its own strategic security, but also forces countries that rely on China's rare earths to re-examine their industrial structure and China policy.
The wind vane of the future
Although Canada has shown its initiative, many Chinese netizens still have doubts about it.In the end, the "confidence book" between China and China is not clean. Whether Chinese enterprises want to invest in Canada, whether the investment environment is safe, whether legal guarantees can be implemented, these are not a welcome to solve problems.
China needs to really get closer, provided that the Canadian side has to clear the "old bill" first. Otherwise, the so-called cooperation is like a high-rise building built on the sand, which seems to be solid, and the reality is unstoppable.
However, Canada’s “step ahead” is indeed a bit of a shock to the western camp. As a member of the G7 and one of NATO’s core allies, Canada’s actions could be a form of “discrimination.” Demonstration effect”。In particular, countries that are also heavily dependent on China's rare earth resources, such as Germany, Japan, and South Korea, are likely to quietly reassess their strategies towards China.
Rare earths can be both the "glue" for international cooperation and the "touchstone" within the Western camp. Who is really willing to cooperate and follow a pragmatic line, and who talks about cooperation but thinks about decoupling can be known at a time.
For China, the initiative of the game is becoming increasingly clear.Rare earth, which is no longer just a mineral underground, but has become a "hard currency" in international relations.
This diplomatic “reversal” triggered by rare earth is just a small step in the global strategic game.
Canada’s choice shows that in the face of reality, ideology is not the all-powerful passport. cooperation is the key to stability and development.
Reference information: Canadian Foreign Minister's first visit to China after taking office, Ministry of Foreign Affairs responds 2025-10-14 15:25·Beijing Daily Client
Wang Yi holds talks with Canadian Foreign Minister Anand 2025-10-17 18: 36 · Ministry of Foreign Affairs