As poor as Canada’s relations with the United States have been under President Trump, they are even worse with the world’s other superpower, China.

在川普總統的領導下，加拿大與美國的關係已經很糟糕，而與世界上另一個超級大國中國的關係則更糟。

The bond between the two nations has been frayed by bitter acrimony and mistrust on both sides.

兩國之間的關係因雙方的尖銳對立和互不信任而日漸脆弱。

Canadian citizens have been used as pawns by China, its top leader publicly humiliated a former Canadian prime minister and the two countries are locked in a brutal tariff war. A recent poll showed that the only nation Canadians generally trust less than the United States is China.

Now there is cautious optimism around the first formal meeting since 2017 between the two nations’ leaders.

現在，人們對2017年以來兩國領導人的首次正式會晤持謹慎樂觀態度。

That a meeting between Prime Minister Mark Carney and Xi Jinping is even taking place is an example of how Mr. Trump’s global tariff campaign and unpredictable diplomacy have forced a once close U.S. ally to look to China.

“Trump is the invisible presence in every meeting between two leaders in the world today,” said Roland Paris, an international relations professor at the University of Ottawa. “For Canada, the primary overriding imperative is managing our relations with the United States, our closest trading partner.’’

「在當今世界任何雙邊會晤中，川普都是隱形的存在，」渥太華大學國際關係教授羅蘭·帕裡斯說。「對加拿大來說，最重要的任務是處理好與我們最親密的貿易夥伴美國的關係。」

“But if it’s possible to achieve relief on the Chinese tariffs,” he added, “then that would be a great thing.”

「但如果有可能減輕中國的關稅，」他還說，「那將是一件好事。」

Still, there is reason for tempering expectations for the meeting scheduled for Friday in Gyeongju, South Korea, where both leaders are attending the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum.

不過，人們有理由降低對定於星期五在韓國慶州舉行的會晤的預期。兩國領導人都在那裡出席亞太經濟合作組織論壇。

When Justin Trudeau, a Liberal, became prime minister in 2015, relations between the countries had been tense because of persistent criticism of China’s human rights record by the previous Conservative government.

2015年，自由黨人賈斯汀·杜魯道就任總理時，兩國關係因前保守黨政府持續批評中國的人權記錄而處於緊張狀態。

Mr. Trudeau made improving the relationship a top priority, but a series of events made it even worse.

杜魯道將改善兩國關係作為首要任務，但一系列事件使這種關係變得更糟。

In 2018, a top Chinese telecommunications executive was arrested in British Columbia under an extradition request from the United States, and then, days after, China imprisoned two Canadians. All three were released in what effectively amounted to a prisoner swap, but the episode remains a source of deep anger in Canada.

2018年，根據美國的引渡請求，一名中國電信高管在不列顛哥倫比亞省被捕，幾天後，中國監禁了兩名加拿大公民。這三人都得到釋放，實際上相當於囚犯交換，但這件事至今仍讓加拿大人深感憤慨。

In 2022, Mr. Xi scolded Mr. Trudeau in front of a news cameraman at a reception in Indonesia, accusing him of leaking details of a brief conversation they had at an earlier reception. The exchange resembled an encounter between a stern schoolmaster and a pupil.

This year a Canadian inquiry found evidence of election meddling in Canada by China, though there was no evidence that it successfully influenced the outcomes of any votes.

今年，加拿大的一項調查發現了中國干預加拿大選舉的證據，儘管沒有證據表明此舉成功地影響了任何投票的結果。

More recently, China applied tariffs of up to 100 percent on canola, an oil seed that accounted for about 5 billion Canadian dollars, or about $3.6 billion, in sales last year, making it Canada’s most valuable agricultural export to China.

最近，中國對油菜籽徵收了高達100%的關稅。油菜籽去年的銷售額約為50億加元（約合36億美元），是加拿大對中國最有價值的農產品出口。

China went after canola after Canada’s imposed a 100 percent tariff on Chinese electric vehicles.

Despite the bad feelings, some experts believe there is room to move in a more productive direction.

儘管雙方關係緊張，一些專家認為仍有向更有成效的方向發展的空間。

“The world has changed quite dramatically compared to, let’s say, six months ago,” said Lynette Ong, a political scientist and Asian specialist at the University of Toronto.

「與六個月前相比，世界已經發生了巨大的變化，」多倫多大學政治學家、亞洲問題專家林奈特·翁說。

Aside from Mr. Trump’s wave of tariffs, the most significant change, she said, is the stalling Chinese economy, which is forcing Mr. Xi to re-evaluate his country’s external relations.

她指出，除川普的關稅大潮外，最顯著的變化是中國經濟增速放緩，這迫使習近平重新評估對外關係。

“When the economy was far stronger, he had sour relations with a bunch of countries — he did not care and he could afford to do so,” she said. “Now they need to drive exports for economic recovery.”

「當經濟強勁得多的時候，他與一些國家的關係惡化——他不在乎，而且他有底氣，」她說。「現在他們需要推動出口以促進經濟復甦。」

Wang Di, the Chinese ambassador to Canada, recently said in a social media post that ending the electric vehicle tariffs would “usher in the spring of improvement” in bilateral relations. Mr. Wang, in an interview with Canadian television, said such a move would prompt China to drop its levies on canola.

中國駐加拿大大使王鏑最近在社群媒體上發帖稱，取消電動汽車關稅將為雙邊關係開啟「改善發展的春天」。王鏑在接受加拿大電視台採訪時說，此舉將促使中國取消對油菜籽徵收的關稅。

Mr. Carney is also facing pressure at home. Two premiers in provinces that produce canola have asked the government to drop the electric vehicle tariff.

卡尼在國內也面臨壓力。有兩位油菜籽生產省份的省長要求政府降低電動汽車的關稅。

Canada has effectively shut out electric vehicles made in China after heavy campaigning by automakers in Detroit and Unifor, the union that represents Canadian workers.

在底特律的汽車製造商和代表加拿大工人的聯合工會發起激烈運動後，加拿大實際上已將中國製造的電動汽車拒之門外。

But the tariff is protecting companies that have been withering for years, said Greig Mordue, a professor at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, and former general manger of Toyota’s Canadian factories.

安大略省漢彌爾頓市麥克馬斯特大學教授、豐田加拿大工廠前總經理格雷格·莫杜說，關稅保護的是那些多年來一直在萎縮的公司。

This month the automaker Stellantis moved production of a Jeep vehicle from a Canadian factory to the United States, leaving the suburban Toronto plant’s fate uncertain. And General Motors discontinued production of an electric van, leaving a second Ontario auto plant dark.

“General Motors used to build 1.2 million vehicles or so a year in this country as recently as 20 years ago,” Mr. Mordue said. “And now they’re down to 100,000.”

「就在20年前，通用汽車每年還在這個國家生產120萬輛左右的汽車，」莫杜說。「現在已經下降到10萬。」

Today, about three-quarters of cars made in Canada come out of factories owned by Toyota and Honda, both Japanese automakers.

如今，在加拿大生產的汽車中，約有四分之三出自日本汽車製造商豐田和本田旗下的工廠。

Mr. Mordue said that Canada could better sustain its auto industry through copying its policy for Japanese carmakers: gradually eliminating tariffs on Chinese vehicles if Chinese companies build plants in Canada and start producing an increasing number of cars.

莫杜表示，加拿大可以通過複製其對日本汽車製造商的政策來更好地維持其汽車工業：如果中國公司在加拿大建廠並開始生產越來越多的汽車，則逐步取消對中國汽車的關稅。

Still, Canada will need to calibrate its approach to making the country more welcoming to Chinese imports. Pursuing that route would risk more backlash from Mr. Trump because of the intense global competition between the United States and China.

儘管如此，加拿大仍需要調整其方式，使其更能接納中國進口產品。由於美國和中國之間激烈的全球競爭，此舉可能會招致川普的更多反彈。

“The window is opening a bit and that’s up to the government of Canada to figure out if they’re prepared to try to pry that window open a little bit more and deal with the inevitable outcome,” Mr. Mordue said.

「這扇窗微微打開了一點，是否打算再打開一點，並應對隨之而來的必然結果，取決於加拿大政府，」莫杜說。

Xu Yanzhou, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told Chinese media that a major pivot by Canada toward China was unlikely because of its longstanding security dependence on the United States as well as fears of retaliation from the Trump administration.

中國社科院研究員徐晏卓對中國媒體表示，加拿大不太可能將重心轉向中國，因為加拿大在安全上長期依賴美國，而且擔心川普政府的報復。

Ottawa’s “defensiveness toward China remains prominent,” she said, “and their stance on core sensitive areas has not fundamentally shifted.”

她說，渥太華「對華防備心理依然突出，在核心敏感領域的立場並未發生根本轉變」。

Mr. Xi may well have other issues to raise at the meeting. Canada has used foreign investment laws to reject takeovers of Canadian companies, particularly in natural resources, as a national security concern.

習近平主席在會晤中可能還會提出其他議題。加拿大曾以國家安全為由，利用外國投資法拒絕對加拿大公司的收購，尤其是自然資源領域的公司。

Still, China’s human rights record and its effort to undermine democracies will limit what Mr. Carney could offer.

儘管如此，中國的人權記錄及其破壞民主的行徑將限制卡尼所能提供的幫助。

“It is a fraught challenge trying to find a basis on which to trade with a country with whom you disagree with in some fundamental ways,” said Stewart Prest, a political scientist at the University of British Columbia. “Yet the fact remains that both countries can benefit economically and politically as well from finding a common cause on which to work.”

「試圖與在某些根本問題上存在分歧的國家建立貿易基礎，是一項令人擔憂的挑戰，」不列顛哥倫比亞大學政治學家斯圖爾特·普雷斯特說。「然而，事實仍然是，兩國都可以從找到共同的事業中受益，也可以從經濟和政治上受益。」

As he left Malaysia, the first stop on a weeklong tour of Asia, Mr. Carney noted that his talks with China were “starting from a very low base” and suggested that was a plus.

“There’s no preset offer,” Mr. Carney said. ‘This is the difference between relationship and transaction. We’re starting a relationship, building up the relationship.”

「沒有預設的方案，」卡尼說。「這就是關係和交易的區別。我們正在開啟並經營一段關係。」