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. Canada will take specific measures to improve people-to-people communication with China, he said.
Advertisement
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has agreed with the Chinese premier to deepen the countries’ relationships and explore a possible free trade deal. Trudeau is visiting China from Tuesday to September 6 and will also attend the G20 Summit in Hangzhou.
Jin Liqun, president of the AIIB, said Wednesday that Canada’s decision “will greatly strengthen the management of this institution”, Reuters reported.
The US and Japan – the world’s third-largest economy – have notably declined to join the AIIB.
“China itself is a large producer of canola, but China has no intention of keeping its doors closed to other exporters”, Li told a joint news conference with Trudeau at his side.
Former Canadian diplomat Charles Burton said joining the bank would signal that Canada is prepared to see China take a seat at the table in terms of having input on the global economic landscape.
China has also been keen to start talks on a free trade agreement with Canada, similar to the pacts Beijing has sealed with Australia and New Zealand, although a senior Canadian government official said last week there is no near-term chance of agreement. The AIIB has already approved four loans totaling $509 million to fund infrastructure projects in Bangladesh, Pakistan, Tajikistan and Indonesia, according to the Xinhua News Agency.
Brian Innes is the vice president of government relations for the Canola Council of Canada, and he says this an important issue to work out, as China represents about 40 per cent of Canadian canola seed exports.
“My government believes very, very much in the importance of investing in infrastructure”, Trudeau said during a roundtable discussion with business leaders.
“With respect for cultural diversity, I think it is natural for us to understand that our two countries may have differences, on some issues this is only natural”, Li said.
Canada’s global trade minister says government negotiators are in China working hard to resolve this dispute that could affect Canadian canola exports.
Dockage, or the amount of foreign material such as weeds, continues to be an issue, but should be considered acceptable in Canada’s canola exports to China.
The premier said that China has no intention to keep its doors closed to imports but that the country’s farmers and consumers are anxious about imported pests. “Chinese consumers also have that issue on their mind”, Li added. He was detained in August 2014 near China’s sensitive border with North Korea.
“By supporting this institution that’s primarily initiated by China indicates that we’re trying to build trust that China will use this institution for the greater good in a liberal, internationalist way and not simply as a device to expand its geopolitical reach, ” said Burton, a political scientist at Brock University.
Advertisement
The canola dispute was expected to dominate the trade agenda during Trudeau’s high-level meetings during his first official visit to China.
