An Analysis Of The Factors Influencing China-Canada Free Trade Agreement Negotiations

Bilateral free trade agreements(FTAs)have become one of the trends in regional economic cooperation in the 21 st century.Having a smaller number of contracting parties,higher efficiency and less difficulty in coordinating the parties' interests bilateral free trade negotiations are more likely to achieve breakthroughs.Significant achievements have been made in trade between China and Canada.The two countries are important trading partners for each other and are highly complementary in terms of resources,technology,and industrial structure.Since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1970,economy and trade have been the focus of bilateral relations.The China-Canada Free Trade Agreement(CCFTA)completed four rounds of feasibility studies in 2017.However,no progress has been made in the bilateral FTA since 2018.This paper delves into Sino-Canada historical relations and the process of CCFTA negotiations so as to analyze comprehensively the factors influencing the CCFTA's stagnation.It analyzes from the perspectives of strategic competition between China and the United States at the international level,Sino-Canadian relations at the bilateral level,and Canada's domestic political,economic and social factors at the national level.The analysis focuses on the Canadian side since Chinese officials have stated that they are open to negotiating the trade agreement.Moreover,it explores the possible prospects for the CCFTA based on the analysis above so as to provide some theoretical material for the study on the CCFTA.