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Canadian FM meets Rubio in first official meeting; topics covering Gaza, Ukraine and countering China, but not tariff

Global Times

By Fan Anqi Published: Aug 22, 2025 05:31 PM

Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio held their first official meeting on Thursday local time, covering a broad range of topics, including Gaza, Ukraine, and countering China-but notably leaving out the most pressing issue: tariffs.

The absence of the "elephant in the room" suggests that Washington aims to fully exploit Canada's role in serving US geopolitical objectives while extracting maximum economic benefit, a Chinese expert said, warning this is likely to create further friction between the two countries.

Anand met Rubio in Washington, D.C., on Thursday morning. The two officials had previously spoken on the phone before, but their first official meeting came as US President Donald Trump escalates pressure on Canada through escalating tariffs and rhetoric, Canadian news portal Global News reported.

"Minister Anand and Secretary Rubio discussed the Canada-United States bilateral relationship and the two countries' continued cooperation on shared priorities," Global Affairs Canada said, according to the report.

US State Department spokesperson Tommy Piggott said the two "discussed efforts to support Haiti's security and overcome Hamas's ongoing obstruction of peace in Gaza," as well as "peace negotiations to end the Russia-Ukraine war" and mechanisms to strengthen their "hemisphere's response to China's coercive activity," according to a State Department readout released on Thursday local time.

The meeting between Anand and Rubio reflected a degree of consensus and alignment of interests between the two countries on geopolitical issues, underscoring what Li Haidong, a professor at China Foreign Affairs University, described as the US' pervasive geopolitical competition toward China. Li added that the US has not abandoned its approach of rallying allies and coordinating efforts to exert pressure on China.

Lü Xiang, research fellow at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, believes that by hyping up "China threat," both sides are engaged in a strategic game, each with their own hidden agendas - Rubio aims to repair US-Canada ties under the sweeping tariff hit, but it cannot address the real problems but only serves as a "symbolic comfort," while Anand, on the other hand, attempts to use the "China threat" narrative to persuade the US to ease trade restrictions, Lü told the Global Times on Friday.

Canadian media Global News noted that neither readout from Anand and Rubio's offices mentioned the ongoing trade negotiations between the two close neighbors.

Trump signed an executive order last month raising tariffs on Canada to 35 percent. The White House said the tariff hike was imposed because Canada "has failed to cooperate in curbing the ongoing flood of fentanyl and other illicit drugs" into the US, as well as in response to Canada's retaliatory tariffs on American goods.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said he was "disappointed" by Trump's decision to raise tariffs further.

Although tariffs were not addressed in the meeting, they remain a fundamental issue in US-Canada relations, Li noted. "From the Trump administration's perspective, Washington seeks to fully exploit Canada's role in serving US geopolitical objectives while at the same time extracting maximum economic advantage. This approach, marked by extreme economic nationalism, will likely create more friction between the two countries," Li said.

From Canada's perspective, Ottawa may adopt a tit-for-tat strategy by cooperating with the US on areas of strategic consensus while resisting economic pressures, the coercive measures taken by the US are likely to fuel growing dissatisfaction among the Canadian public. Canada may also try to leverage Washington's strategic dependence on Ottawa to negotiate better terms in trade or other areas, Li said.

"The past has shown Canada loud and clear that acting in the US' interests brings it no benefits." Lü urged Canada to focus on safeguarding its sovereignty while protecting its economic interests.