Canada Touts China as Strategic Partner as Trade Barriers Ease

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney called the nation's relationship with China a "strategic partnership" during his meeting with Xi Jinping in Beijing on Friday, marking a sharp break from the diplomatic chill of recent years. During the first meeting between the leaders of the two nations in eight years, Carney touted the importance of their ties in the face of the “new world order” — a veiled reference to Donald Trump’s foreign policy swings.

Carney’s visit signals a re-engagement with China at a time when Canada’s southern neighbor is increasingly pursuing a “spheres of influence” doctrine in the Western Hemisphere and a disruptive trade agenda. But it’s not just politics. A day after announcing a desire to expand energy deals, the two nations agreed that China will cut tariffs on Canadian rapeseed by March 1, as well as suspend duties on imports of other farm products including canola meal and lobsters. Canada, in turn, will allow 49,000 Chinese electric vehicles into its market at a tariff rate of about 6%, down from the current rate of 100%.

-- Allen Wan

Pulling the plug. China is removing servers dedicated to high-frequency traders from local exchanges' data centers, according to people familiar with the matter. The regulatory tightening will affect both domestic as well as global firms such as Citadel Securities and Jane Street Group. The move will impact the speed advantage that high-frequency traders have used to beat rivals, as they will no longer be able to get slightly quicker execution by using servers located within exchange-run facilities.
Commodities futures exchanges in Shanghai and Guangzhou are among those that are affected, and prices for metals traded there slumped after news of the clampdown broke.