China has said the tougher import rules were necessary to prevent the spread of blackleg disease from Canadian canola into Chinese crops of rapeseed, another name for the agricultural commodity.
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Ritz suggested there is still room for Canada to forge a free trade deal with China, even though government officials have played down any notion that such a deal could be on the table.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau arrived in China early today to begin his first official visit there.
Canada announced Wednesday it intends to apply for membership to the China-initiated Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), making it the latest United States ally to join the organization which experts say is a signal of Canada’s growing willingness to deepen economic cooperation and reset ties with China.
Trudeau and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang agreed Wednesday to annual meetings and the eventual establishment of a mechanism to discuss national security and the rule of law.
“Some indigenous people in Canada still live in miserable conditions”, Xinhua wrote in the unsigned editorial, calling Canadian concerns over Chinese human rights “groundless”.
“China should be – and is – confident and successful enough to know that it should be able to ask for advice and take suggestions about how to be better for its citizens, better to build a greater future”.
Saint-Jacques said the prime minister raised the issue of human rights in his meetings with both Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and President Xi Jinping.
Morneau has also said he is considering relaxing restrictions on foreign investments that specifically target state-owned enterprises like those of China.
During Tuesday’s event Trudeau mentioned his commitment to defending the last two, as well as expressing untempered support for trade and investment.
The commentary also points out that China is not the only hope on which Canada’s fate is hinged.
While the cost – which he estimated will be as much as $1 billion – is high, he said Canadian companies could benefit from the billions of dollars in projects the bank will finance. Booksellers have disappeared from Hong Kong and Thailand and re-emerged in the mainland, raising accusations that China is reaching across borders to silence dissent.
Government negotiators in China are working hard to resolve a dispute that could affect Canadian canola exports, says Canada’s worldwide trade minister.
Those cases include Kevin Garratt, a Canadian imprisoned for more than two years in China on espionage charges. The prime minister did not say what China has told him about Garratt’s case.
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China is the biggest foreign consumer of Canadian canola, which is usually refined into an edible oil, but Li said Chinese canola producers and consumers were anxious about imported canola carrying disease.
