Mark Carney starts his visit to China

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Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney arrives in China on Wednesday. 

It will be the start of his 4-day official visit, the first visit by a Canadian leader in 8 years. 

Carney is focusing on trade, describing the trip as part of a move to forge new partnerships around the world to end Canada's economic reliance on the American market. 

The US has hit Canada with tariffs on its exports to the US and suggested the vast, resource-rich country could become America's 51st state. 

China, for its part, is calling on the Canadian government to set a foreign policy path independent of the U.S.

"If the Canadian side reflects on the root causes of the setbacks in bilateral relations over the past few years - the previous Justin Trudeau government's policies to contain China in lockstep with the United States - it will realize that it can avoid the same outcome by upholding its strategic autonomy in handling China-related issues," said an editorial in China Daily. 

An Ipsos poll released Saturday found that 54 percent of Canadians surveyed expressed support for closer trade ties and economic agreements with China. 

This marks a turnaround from 2020, when 8 out of 10 Canadians wanted the country to rely less on the Chinese market.