{"id":31788,"date":"2026-01-16T09:47:33","date_gmt":"2026-01-15T23:47:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/?p=31788"},"modified":"2026-01-16T09:47:35","modified_gmt":"2026-01-15T23:47:35","slug":"canada-china-sign-mass-timber-pact-as-b-c-pivots-from-the-u-s","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/canada-china-sign-mass-timber-pact-as-b-c-pivots-from-the-u-s\/","title":{"rendered":"Canada, China Sign Mass Timber Pact as B.C. Pivots from the U.S."},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Canada is pivoting to China in the wake of Trump&#8217;s tariffs on lumber, with British Columbia signing a new MOU on modern wood construction<a href=\"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/new-tariffs-and-duties-make-zero-sense-for-u-s-lumber-heres-why\/\">, a move the province said will open new markets as duties and tariffs squeeze exporters out of the U.S.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/cfjctoday.com\/2026\/01\/15\/b-c-and-feds-sign-lumber-understanding-with-china-as-province-looks-beyond-u-s\/\">Announced yesterday,<\/a> the five\u2011year, non\u2011binding agreement, signed by B.C.\u2019s Forests Ministry, Natural Resources Canada and China\u2019s Ministry of Housing and Urban\u2011Rural Development, commits both countries to exchanges and joint research on tall\u2011wood and mass\u2011timber construction and is one of the first agreements struck following Prime Minister Mark Carney\u2019s arrival in Beijing, the first visit by a Canadian prime minister since 2017.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Wood Central understands the MOU focuses on integrating modern wood construction into China\u2019s urban renewal and rural revitalisation strategies, while exploring \u201cpractical approaches\u201d to green development. For B.C., the hope is that deeper technical collaboration will open the door for more processed lumber and engineered\u2011wood products to enter the Chinese market at scale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<div class=\"youtube-embed\" data-video_id=\"-mSfzN6b1jw\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Trump\u2019s tariff war could collapse B.C.\u2019s struggling forest industry\" width=\"696\" height=\"392\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/-mSfzN6b1jw?feature=oembed&#038;enablejsapi=1\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em>New tariffs and duties on B.C. lumber \u2014 now exceeding 40% \u2014 have devastated the province\u2019s forest industry, including Domtar\u2019s Vancouver Island pulp mill, which employed about 350 workers before closing late last year. Footage courtesy of CBCTheNational.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>According to Juliet Lu, a University of British Columbia political ecologist and China scholar, the MOU is \u201crelatively low\u2011hanging fruit\u201d in Carney\u2019s effort to rebuild trade with Beijing, especially compared with thornier issues such as Canadian tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles or China\u2019s levies on Canadian canola. Even so, she said the potential upside for B.C. is significant, given China\u2019s long reliance on carbon\u2011intensive concrete and steel for its high\u2011rise construction boom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-pullquote\"><blockquote><p>\u201c(Chinese construction) is shifting away from mass production into moments when demand for different types of building structures is growing,\u201d Lu said. \u201cPast years of work on opening regulations to wood\u2011frame construction have allowed for that. Plus, we have these new technologies of engineered wood that allow for building bigger buildings, like what we see in China, with wood construction. So, I think there isa  great possibility (for opportunity).\u201d<\/p><cite>Juliet Lu on the potential for British Columbia to grow it&#8217;s trade of higher value engineered wood products in China.<\/cite><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>As reported by the Canadian Press, the MOU calls for strengthening an \u201cindustrial chain\u201d for wood construction, including tall\u2011wood buildings and mass\u2011timber projects. Lu noted that China has already opened regulations to allow larger wood buildings in Beijing, Shanghai and Haikou, a shift that aligns with B.C.\u2019s push to expand its higher\u2011value engineered\u2011wood exports.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cRight now, our exports to China are dominated more by lower value products, things like pulp that goes into paper and things like unprocessed logs, which we really want to upgrade from,\u201d she said. \u201cSo, any shifts in China\u2019s market demand for Canadian timber are going to have a huge impact on the Canadian market, even if it looks like a drop in the barrel for the Chinese market.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<div class=\"youtube-embed\" data-video_id=\"2zGqQWEp6uE\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Carney secures new agreement in landmark visit to China\" width=\"696\" height=\"392\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/2zGqQWEp6uE?feature=oembed&#038;enablejsapi=1\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em>Prime Minister Mark Carney is making the most of the first trip by a Canadian leader to China in eight years. The Liberal leader says Canada is entering a new era of relations as he attempts to repair trade and diplomatic ties. Footage courtesy of Global News.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>According to Ravi Parmer, B.C.\u2019s Forests Minister, the agreement is part of a new effort to diversify from the U.S., where tariffs have placed pressure on B.C.\u2019s forestry supply chain. \u201cThe tariffs imposed by (U.S. President) Donald Trump have had a significant impact on B.C.\u2019s &#8211; and Canada\u2019s &#8211; forestry sector,\u201d Parmar said. \u201cThat\u2019s why we are exploring other markets to create new and strengthen existing partnerships to stabilise and diversify the sector.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The MOU comes as B.C. increasingly turns to Asia to grow exports of engineered\u2011wood products. <a href=\"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/trumps-tariffs-push-canadian-lumber-abroad-b-c-secures-new-deals-in-asia\/\">Last year,<\/a> Wood Central reported that Parmar led a trade delegation to Japan and South Korea, resulting in several trade agreements, whilst Premier David Eby is currently in India, <a href=\"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/british-columbia-eyes-india-in-wake-of-trumps-tariffs-on-lumber\/\">where he is looking to establish new partnerships to trade lumber. <\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>To learn why Canada is looking to global markets to increase production of mass timber six\u2011fold over the next 20 years, <a href=\"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/canadas-plan-mass-timber-to-skyrocket-6-fold-in-20-years\/\">click here for Wood Central\u2019s special feature from June 2024.<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Canada is pivoting to China in the wake of Trump&#8217;s tariffs on lumber, with British Columbia signing a new MOU on modern wood construction, a move the province said will open new markets as duties and tariffs squeeze exporters out of the U.S. Announced yesterday, the five\u2011year, non\u2011binding agreement, signed by B.C.\u2019s Forests Ministry, Natural [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":31789,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_wpscppro_dont_share_socialmedia":false,"_wpscppro_custom_social_share_image":0,"_facebook_share_type":"default","_twitter_share_type":"default","_linkedin_share_type":"default","_pinterest_share_type":"default","_linkedin_share_type_page":"default","_instagram_share_type":"default","_medium_share_type":"default","_threads_share_type":"default","_google_business_share_type":"default","_selected_social_profile":[],"_wpsp_enable_custom_social_template":false,"_wpsp_social_scheduling":{"enabled":false,"datetime":null,"platforms":[],"status":"template_only","dateOption":"today","timeOption":"now","customDays":"","customHours":"","customDate":"","customTime":"","schedulingType":"absolute"},"_wpsp_active_default_template":true},"categories":[51,3,38,52,37,47,33,32,46,39,48,49,68,31],"tags":[],"ppma_author":[70],"class_list":{"0":"post-31788","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-americas","8":"category-architecture","9":"category-architecture-and-design","10":"category-asia","11":"category-building-and-construction","12":"category-commercial","13":"category-editors-picks","14":"category-global-news","15":"category-industry","16":"category-mass-timber","17":"category-mid-rise-construction","18":"category-residential","19":"category-sector","20":"category-top-stories"},"authors":[{"term_id":70,"user_id":2,"is_guest":0,"slug":"jason","display_name":"Jason Ross","avatar_url":{"url":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/J-Ross-headshot.jpeg","url2x":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/J-Ross-headshot.jpeg"},"0":null,"1":"","2":"","3":"","4":"","5":"","6":"","7":"","8":""}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31788","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31788"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31788\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":31798,"href":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31788\/revisions\/31798"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/31789"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31788"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31788"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31788"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ppma_author?post=31788"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}