Trade Minister Mary Ng announced Canada and Taiwan will start work on a foreign-investment promotion and protection arrangement. A “FIPA” is a basic trade agreement that says neither party can discriminate against investments coming from the other, and spells out dispute-resolution mechanisms. Ng’s office said that in the meeting where they agreed to FIPA talks, she and Taiwan’s minister John Deng also discussed “collaboration on science, technology and innovation, education, Indigenous affairs and the green economy.” (The Logic)

Talking point: That Taiwan is “an inalienable part of China’s territory” is a key element of Beijing’s policy, and anything that smacks of recognition of Taiwanese statehood is received poorly there. Canada has 59 FIPAs, according to the federal government, all of them with sovereign countries, and negotiating one with Taiwan won’t likely ease tense relations between Ottawa and Beijing. Ng’s statement said Taiwan is “a key trade and investment partner as Canada broadens its trade links and deepens its economic partnerships in the Indo-Pacific region.”