But after a meeting Wednesday in Beijing between Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, the two countries announced the existing rules would stay in place as they continued to negotiate a long-term solution.
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Guy Saint-Jacques, Canada’s top diplomat in China for four years, said he’s noticed a change in terms of people’s ability to express themselves freely, and not in a positive way.
Mr. Trudeau demurred. Improve the relationship, and there will be more avenues to invest in Canada, he said.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says existing dockage rules with China on canola exports have been extended beyond a September 1 deadline as the two countries continue to negotiate a long-term solution.
The countries are locked in a dispute over the amount of foreign material-such as other crops and weeds-found in Canadian canola exports to China. British Columbia instituted a tax on foreign real estate buyers, a move aimed nearly exclusively at wealthy Chinese driving up the Vancouver housing market, while Trudeau’s government has moved to collect more data on foreign home ownership.
Canadian farm goods are high quality and safe, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in Beijing on Tuesday as his trade minister said Canada was working hard to resolve a canola import dispute that threatens C$2 billion ($1.5 billion) in business.
The Canadian government has not specified how much money it would put into the bank.
On Wednesday in Beijing, Finance Minister Bill Morneau will meet with the investment bank’s president Jin Liqun.
“The foundation of a strong relationship is being able to be frank and open about concerns, questions and issues to work on together”, he said.
China founded the US$100-billion Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank late previous year to provide other countries in the region access to capital for investments in projects in areas such as transportation, power and telecommunications.
This is the first official visit of Trudeau to China since taking office in November 2015.
Speaking at an event hosted by Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.’s Jack Ma just hours after landing in Beijing, Trudeau said China’s key role in the global economy means it can’t be ignored by countries like Canada.
Trudeau has said in the past there’s no evidence to support the accusations against Garratt, but he didn’t say what China has told him about the case. Canadian authorities say they are anxious about Garratt’s health, as he has an irregular heartbeat.
The four projects approved earlier this year addressed numerous concerns western countries had about the new bank, he said, including that China would use it to advance its own strategic and commercial interests.
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Harper, to his credit, personally brought up the cases of two Canadian citizens imprisoned in China – the Uyghur religious leader Huseyin Celil and Kevin Garratt, imprisoned on trumped-up espionage charges.
