Donald Trump has bizarrely warned Canada that China will “end ice hockey” after the two nations agreed a major trade deal.
In January, Canadian prime minister Mark Carney struck a deal with Chinese president Xi Jinping which would see tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles and Canadian canola oil slashed.
The thawing relationship between China and Canada comes as the North American nation looks to lessen its reliance on Trump’s US following his tariffs on Canadian products and comments about making the country the ’51st US state.’
Unsurprisingly, the US president doesn’t think much to the deal, and has warned it could be bad news for Canada – and particularly their national sport.
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Speaking to the media on Air Force One over the weekend, Trump warned the trade deal would see China “take over Canada”, adding that the first thing they would do is “end ice hockey.”
“If they (Canada) do a deal with China, we will do something very substantial,” the president said.
“I have a great relationship with China and President Xi but we don’t want China to take over Canada.
“If they make the deal that he’s looking to make, China will take over Canada and the first thing they’re going to do is end ice hockey.”
Along with reciprocal tariff cuts, China and Canada also agreed on a number of other measures.
The trade deal came during the for the first meeting between the countries’ leaders in Beijing in eight years.
Carney labelled the agreement a “landmark deal” which marks a “new strategic partnership” between the two nations.