The famous tourist destination set the backdrop for Trudeau’s announcement that the two countries would collaborate on the development of China’s national parks.
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In meetings with members of the Canada China Business Council and in roundtables with women entrepreneurs, the Prime Minister discussed how to strengthen Canada’s commercial ties with China – especially how to open doors for small and medium-sized enterprises.
A day earlier, the family of Canadian citizen Kevin Garratt, indicted by China in January on charges of spying and stealing state secrets, expressed frustration by the lack of progress in securing his release.
As part of his official visit to China, the Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, visited Shanghai over the past two days where he met with local business and government leaders.
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.
Chinese President Xi Jinping speaks with Justin Trudeau (not pictured) during their meeting at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse. “I’m here in China this week to talk about all of the great partnerships that we’re working on, and that are going to happen between Canada and China”, Trudeau said in his brief remarks. Zhang also acknowledged the fact that it was his first visit as the Canadian Prime Minister.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Sophie Gregoire and Ella-Grace walk atop a section of the Great Wall of China during their visit, in Beijing on September 1, 2016.
Chinese tourist travel to Canada rose 24 per cent in the first six months of this year, Saint-Jacques said. He noted that now only Americans and Brits visit Canada more than the Chinese.
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.
On Saturday, Trudeau is to fly to Hangzhou, where he will meet Jack Ma, the founder of e-commerce giant Alibaba and later attend the G20 leaders’ summit in Hangzhou.
Canada’s worldwide trade minister says the rules governing shipments of Canadian canola to China will remain in place until both countries can reach a new agreement on acceptable import standards.
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During a news conference Wednesday, Trudeau said the two countries would be taking specific steps to improve trade and investment, boost tourism, expand cultural exchanges and address climate change.
