The Canadian government has ordered Chinese tech company Hikvision, a major surveillance equipment manufacturer, to close its operations in Canada, citing national security concerns.

Last week, Canada announced that it would be imposing a new 50% surtax, functioning as a tariff-rate quota, on certain steel imports from countries with whom it does not have a trade agreement.

At a meeting of the WTO's Dispute Settlement Body today, panels were established to hear disputes brought by Canada and China against each other.

After the recent Canadian election, Canada's national and provincial leaders have focused on plans to increase inter-provincial trade and deal with economic threats from the United States, but improving trade relations with China and dealing with trade irritants have also been important issues.

At a meeting of the WTO's Dispute Settlement Body on Friday, a panel requested by China against Canadian import taxes was blocked, and a panel requested by Canada against Chinese tariffs was removed from the agenda. These moves constitute brief delays and both panels will still be established

In a WTO complaint brought by Canada, China has contested Canada's declaration of the complaint as an "urgent" one meriting shorter timeframes.

This week, Canada and China both filed requests for WTO panels in complaints against each other, setting the stage for the WTO's Dispute Settlement Body to establish panels to hear the complaints.