Foreign Affairs Minister to Visit China, India, Singapore Next Week as Part of Indo-Pacific Strategy

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Oct 11, 2025 - 09:57 Updated: Oct 11, 2025 - 09:49
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Foreign Affairs Minister to Visit China, India, Singapore Next Week as Part of Indo-Pacific Strategy

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Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand will travel to China, India, and Singapore from Oct. 12 to 17 to “advance bilateral relations and cooperation” with the three countries as part of Canada’s Indo-Pacific Strategy, Global Affairs says.

Global Affairs announced the trip on Oct. 10, detailing the officials Anand will meet in each country and the objectives of her visit in each location. The trip comes as Canada and India work to improve their strained relationship, and amid ongoing trade tensions with Beijing. Anand said in July that Canada’s relationships in the Indo-Pacific would move toward a greater economic focus.
“For Canada to be strong at home, we need strong, stable partnerships abroad. I am building bridges and increasing cooperation with India, Singapore and China,” Anand said in an Oct. 10 press release.

“In line with Canada’s Indo-Pacific Strategy, I will be working to advance efforts to position Canada as a trusted, reliable partner of choice for Indo-Pacific countries and their economies.”

The statement does not specify the order in which the minister will visit the countries.

In India, Anand will visit Delhi to meet with Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, the country’s minister of external affairs, and with Piyush Goyal, minister of commerce and industry, as the two countries seek to cooperate on issues such as trade diversification, energy transformation, and security, Global Affairs said.

She will also travel to Mumbai to meet with Canadian and Indian firms working to support investment, job creation, and economic opportunity in both countries, according to the statement.

Canada-India relations deteriorated last year after both countries expelled their top diplomats following allegations from Canadian officials that linked Indian government agents to crimes on Canadian soil, including the murder of pro-Khalistan activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Vancouver in June 2023. India has denied the allegations.
Tensions began to ease in June when Carney invited Modi to the G7 summit in Alberta and both countries agreed to restore diplomatic services to citizens in both countries. Canada appointed a new high commissioner to India in August, around the same time New Delhi named its new high commissioner to Canada.

During her visit to China, Anand will meet with her counterpart, Wang Yi, to “continue engagement on the bilateral relationship as Canada and China mark 55 years since establishing diplomatic ties,” according to the statement.

Global Affairs says the meeting will build on the commitment made by Prime Minister Mark Carney and Chinese Premier Li Qiang to “regularize channels of communication” between the two countries.

Carney and Li met in person last month on the sidelines of the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York. The two discussed trade “sensitivities” and agreed to continue talks, including at the highest levels of government, according to the Prime Minister’s Office.

Trade frictions between the two countries have escalated in recent months following Canada’s imposition of tariffs on Chinese EVs and metals, which Canada said were necessary to protect domestic industries from Chinese non-market practices. Beijing responded with tariffs on Canadian canola and other agricultural products, widely seen as retaliatory.

Besides trade tensions, diplomatic relations have also been deteriorating since 2018, following China’s arbitrary detention of Canadians Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig in apparent retaliation for the detention of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou in Vancouver; recent revelations of China’s interference in Canada’s democracy; and Ottawa’s condemnation of Beijing’s escalating transnational repression of dissidents in Canada.

Global Affairs says Anand and Wang will discuss the “Canada-China Strategic Partnership, the evolving bilateral and global context, as well as issues of importance to the Canadian economy.”

Anand’s visit to Singapore, which comes as the two countries mark 60 years of diplomatic relations, will include a meeting with Foreign Affairs Minister Vivian Balakrishnan to strengthen bilateral cooperation, according to Global Affairs.

Anand plans to highlight the progress Canada and ASEAN countries have made toward a free trade agreement and note the importance of concluding negotiations soon, the statement says. ASEAN is an intergovernmental organization of ten Southeast Asian countries, including Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.

Singapore is Canada’s largest source of foreign direct investment in Southeast Asia, totaling $7.8 billion in 2024.

Olivia Gomm contributed to this report.
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