Prime Minister Mark Carney will travel to China next week at the invitation of President Xi Jinping—the first visit by a Canadian head of government in more than eight years. (The Logic)

Talking point: The prime minister will head to China from Jan. 13 to 17 “to elevate engagement on trade, energy, agriculture and international security,” his office announced Wednesday. Carney and Xi first met last October at the APEC summit in South Korea, where they asked their officials to resolve trade issues and irritants quickly. Justin Trudeau visited China in 2017 in a failed attempt to begin negotiating a trade deal the first time Canada faced a protectionist Trump administration. Relations have been icy for years, but Carney is pushing to diversify exports beyond the U.S. China’s envoy to Canada has said Beijing would be open to negotiating a free trade agreement if Ottawa lifted restrictions on Chinese investment. Carney will also attend the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, from Jan. 19 to 21.

Update: This briefing has been amended to include details of Carney’s travel announced Wednesday afternoon.