The father of the current Canadian Prime Minister who was also a former Prime Minister, Pierre Trudeau, had made 50 medals of Norman Bethune and presented two of those medals to Chairman Mao Zedong and former Premier Zhou Enlai.
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Shanghai: Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Thursday said he spoke with Chinese President Xi Jinping about the importance of freedom of expression and acceptance of diversity, and encouraged China to do more to protect human rights.
Trudeau is now in Beijing on a week-long visit to strengthen ties between Canada and China, and will attend the G20 summit in Hangzhou before his arrival in Hong Kong on Monday.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau looks on as he takes in a view of the Great Wall of China, in Beijing on Thursday, September 1, 2016.
“We are at a time where worldwide trade and global investment often get looked through a populous lens as being something that is bad”, said Trudeau, mentioning Britain’s referendum on an exit from the European Union and the polarizing politics seen in this year’s USA presidential election cycle.
“The success of the world is inexorably linked to China’s success, and I know that these are not easy conversations to have, but they are necessary ones”.
Chinese and Canadian firms signed 56 deals worth more than C$1.2 billion ($914.8 million) at a ceremony on Thursday, Canadian trade minister Chrystia Freeland said in Shanghai.
“Any economic strategy that ignores China or treats that valuable relationship as anything less than critical and important is not just short-sighted, it is irresponsible”, Trudeau said in a dialogue session with Chinese entrepreneurs Tuesday.
Mr. Ma and Prime Minister Trudeau also witnessed the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between Air Canada, the country’s largest air carrier, and Alitrip, Alibaba’s online travel booking platform, providing Chinese consumers with a range of travel and vacation packages, as well as visa application services. “But I know this visit to China – first time as prime minister of Canada – will certainly leave you a deep and new impression”, he said.
The technology will also be applied to a resource-development project in Liaoning Province, China.
Trudeau, centre, with China’s Ambassador to Canada Luo Zhaohui, left, and Canada’s Ambassador to China Guy Saint-Jacques on the Great Wall in Beijing.
He said Chinese tourist travel to Canada went up 24 per cent in the first six months of this year, helping make China the third source of visitors after the US and the United Kingdom. This has increased the Chinese tourist visiting Canada by nearly 200 percent this year.
The portion of the wall they visited had been temporarily closed to the public – providing them with a peaceful section to stroll, away from the usual hordes of visitors.
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Canada is committed to reaching a long-term and permanent canola deal with China at an early date, Freeland said.
