Later Tuesday, Trudeau was expected to continue pursuing what he described as a “renewed relationship” at a dinner hosted by Chinese Premier Li Keqiang.
Advertisement
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau chats with the Premier of the People’s Republic of China, Li Keqiang, during a signing ceremony for several tentative agreements in Beijing, China, on Wednesday, August 31, 2016.
“China and Canada have multi-vector cooperation in trade and economy, the parties have agreed to prepare a feasibility study for the establishment of a free trade zone between China and Canada as soon as possible”, Li said at a joint press conference with Trudeau.
This is the first time for Trudeau to visit China after he became prime minister last November, and the visit comes 43 years after his father Pierre Trudeau became the first Canadian prime minister to visit China in 1973. “So, I’m very happy to be extending that effort now”.
Both sides should take a flexible attitude on the canola issue, he said.
“For these cases, the departments of both sides will continue to remain in touch and we believe it’s essential for our two countries to remove disturbances and work together to uphold the other interests of China-Canada relations”.
Human rights were also a topic of discussion in Bejing.
Trudeau himself has indicated in the past that there’s no evidence to support the accusations against Garratt.
China used this concern to restrict Canadian imports of canola in 2009 and subsequently relaxed its rules.
Li also said the case of a Canadian citizen detained in China on suspicion of spying was being handled according to law.
The Canadian prime minister added that the two countries will cooperate in areas of mutual concern, including climate change, judge training and United Nations peacekeeping.
The Garratt family issued a statement Wednesday through their lawyer, saying they were “extremely frustrated” by a lack of progress in securing his release and enabling him to obtain “critically needed medical treatment”.
Even so, uncertainty remains about how long China will delay imposing its tougher standard, said PI Financial broker Ken Ball, who trades canola futures in Winnipeg.
“We are now working on achieving a long-term agreement on terms of Canadian canola shipments and. we are working to achieve that in the coming days and weeks”, she said.
The change threatened to have a negative effect on Canada’s multibillion-dollar canola exports to China.
During his seven-day stay, Trudeau is scheduled to meet with Chinese government leaders, businessmen and the general public, in addition to attending the G20 summit to be held in the city of Hangzhou from September 4th to the 5th.
Advertisement
“Canada is always looking for ways to create hope and opportunity for our middle class as well as for people around the world”, Finance Minister Bill Morneau said in a statement issued in Beijing.
