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By Didi Kirsten Tatlow
Senior Correspondent, International Affairs
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A version of this article published in Newsweek’s China Decoded newsletter on Saturday. Sign up here.
A Canadian government decision to sharply reduce tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles is drawing new questions after a dossier provided to Newsweek alleged that a businessman with links to China’s United Front system submitted a policy proposal urging Ottawa to rethink the levy, days before Prime Minister Mark Carney reached an agreement with Beijing.
Canada agreed in January to allow 49,000 Chinese-made electric vehicles into the country at a 6.1 percent tariff, replacing a 100 percent surtax imposed in 2024 under former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Announced during Carney’s visit to China in mid-January, it was part of a broader trade agreement that included tariff relief from China for Canadian agricultural exports such as canola oil.
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But it marked a break with the United States, which continues to restrict Chinese electric vehicles, and raised the temperature around national security concerns in North America over Chinese-made automotive technology.
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According to the Canadian source who provided the dossier, a policy paper seeking "a structural rethink of Canada’s 100% surtax on Chinese electric vehicles" was delivered to the Prime Minister’s Office and to members of Parliament shortly before Carney left for Beijing. The person and the association behind the proposal are not registered lobbyists, according to a search of Canada’s lobby registry.
Newsweek contacted the Prime Minister’s Office seeking confirmation and comment. An answer came from the Privy Council Office, which directed the question to Global Affairs Canada. Newsweek has contacted Global Affairs Canada for comment.
The dossier identifies the businessman as Shui Shousong, president of the Sino-Canada Entrepreneurs Association, also known as SinoCann. Chinese-language reports reviewed by Newsweek describe Shui as having been a member of a branch of a key United Front organization in China, the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, including by Zhejiang Minjian, a magazine affiliated with the United Front in Zhejiang province.
Newsweek contacted both Shui and SinoCann for comment but did not receive a response.
The United Front Work Department is the Chinese Communist Party agency whose job is to build influence among non-CCP groups and overseas communities. Western governments and security agencies have increasingly scrutinized United Front-linked organizations over concerns that they are advancing Beijing’s political and economic objectives abroad.
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The Canadian source, who asked not to be named because of sensitivities around strained U.S.-Canada ties, said Shui had "a very extensive footprint of United Front membership and activity" and had appeared at events with Canadian municipal and federal politicians, including one "where a Chinese consular official openly praised the host organization for advancing ‘reunification’ work," citing Chinese-language reports. That means "reunification" with Taiwan which is a core political goal of the CCP and its united front work.
In August, Shui hosted the launch of a new Canada-China EV association and the unveiling of a service center to build a "transnational industrial cooperation platform" between Canada and China, according to a report by Victoria Media, a Canada-based Chinese-language media. Shui is the President of the Canada-China Business Council that hosted the event according to Chinese-language media reports.
Sitting and retired members of the Canadian Parliament also spoke at the launch that was attended by municipal government members and diplomats from the Consulate General of the People's Republic of China in Toronto, Victoria Media reported.
Newsweek requested comment from the Chinese consulate in Toronto and from the embassy in Ottawa but did not hear back immediately.
"No one in Canadian media asked the obvious question of who had been putting their case to the Prime Minister’s Office beforehand, or on whose behalf," the source said.
The source characterized the episode not as proof of a covert operation, but as an example of a potential influence channel that may have gone unexamined. "That is the finding," the source said. "Not a covert operation but an unexamined one: access obtained through ordinary channels, in daylight, by a figure whose affiliations were a matter of public record in two languages, with no registry entry, no reporting, and no evidence that any Canadian body looked."
The claims come as Chinese electric vehicles have become a major issue in North American trade and security policy. Washington has kept Chinese EVs out of the U.S. market, warning about loss of manufacturing strength in core products and technologies and has warned that connected vehicle technology could create security vulnerabilities. China’s EV industry, led by companies such as BYD, has expanded rapidly overseas, intensifying concerns in Western capitals, particularly in Germany, about industrial capacity, supply chains and data security.
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In early September, U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy sent a sharply worded letter to Ford Motor Company CEO Jim Farley expressing "profound concern" about Ford’s ties to Chinese companies and technology. The Department of Transportation cited Ford’s use of licensed battery technology from China’s CATL, a partnership involving Geely, and other China-linked supply-chain issues.
"While DOT recognizes the intense competitive pressures of the global market, the Company's recent strategic decisions paint a troubling picture of a foundational American brand actively intertwining its future with Chinese state-backed enterprises," Duffy wrote.
Ford rejected the criticism, calling the letter "wrongheaded." The company said it supports U.S. efforts to advance American innovation and manufacturing.
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