Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau are in Montreal today as part of trade talks between the two countries.
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Chinese Premier Li Keqiang told an economic forum in NY on Tuesday 20 September, that China and the United States will keep developing positive relations no matter who wins November’s US presidential election.
China and Canada have announced the first steps toward the possible creation of a bilateral free-trade agreement.
In the briefing note, Jean further describes Canada’s response to China’s 2014 campaign, dubbed “Operation Fox Hunt”, an outgrowth of President Xi Jinping’s anti-corruption campaign in which he “vowed to swat down both “tigers” and ‘flies, ‘ regardless of their level, in efforts to clean up the Communist Party in China”.
“We will not extradite into situations of capital punishment, be it with the United States or any other country around the world”, Mr Trudeau said.
Nor can the Chinese government guarantee that persons detained before or after conviction will be held in humane conditions free from torture, as Chinese Premier Li Keqiang admitted during his visit to Canada. If anything has happened over the ensuing months to alter the prime minister’s thinking on some of the major files the government has punted to the fall, he was not out to share that over the 20 minutes he spent answering two dozen media questions pertaining to the fall agenda.
Seeking to reassure his hosts, Mr Li said that while the death penalty was needed in China, the law provides for “humanitarian treatment” of accused persons.
We have created a dialogue, he said.
Accompanied by a young Chinese journalist, over nearly a dozen trips, Trudeau travelled to Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chongqing and many places in between, speaking with people from all walks of life: migrant workers, constitutional lawyers, business people, artists, farmers.
Francis Pang, who heads heads Toronto-based AKD International Inc. and has has been doing business between China and Canada for more than 40 years, said while Canada and China might not see eye-to-eye on certain issues, that shouldn’t slow economic cooperation between the two countries.
Emerging from a morning meeting with Li, Trudeau announced four business deals between Canadian and Chinese companies, including a joint venture between SNC Lavalin (TO:) and China National Nuclear Corp [CNNNC.UL] and Shanghai Electric Group Co Ltd to develop, market and build new nuclear reactors in China.
China is willing to strengthen mutual political trust and deepen practical cooperation in a bid to forge a “golden decade” for China-Canada ties, he added.
“The key is how to handle these differences”, he said.
Wearing the jerseys, Li and Trudeau then entered the rink, giving high fives with young players waiting for them.
Trudeau visited China earlier this month. At one point, when the simultaneous translation failed, Li encouraged Trudeau to continue talking, saying “I trust you”.
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Both will reimburse the government for miscellaneous moving expenses.
