The Chinese government moved last week to take the sting out of a potential irritant during the visit, the issue of human rights.
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Trudeau, who will be accompanied by his wife Sophie Gregoire Trudeau, said last week that he hopes the visit will be a reset in the relationship between the two countries.
While on a state visit to China, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced restrictions on the import of Canadian canola will be postponed.
The two countries differ on the level of “dockage”- foreign supplies such as weeds, other crops and detritus- that should be deemed acceptable in Canada’s canola exports to China. Ritz offered Trudeau some advice when broaching China’s less-than-stellar human rights record: don’t do it in public. But we still sell mostly wood, oil seeds, fish and grain to China.
He is also likely to discuss the human rights situation in China and the difficulties faced by people, who hold a double citizenship in the country.
Asked about Garratt, Li told a joint news conference with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in Beijing that China and Canada would continue to communicate on the issue.
Prior to Wednesday’s announcement, former Canadian diplomat Charles Burton said joining the bank would signal Canada was prepared to see China take a seat at the table in terms of having input on the global economic landscape.
“My government believes very, very much in the importance of investing in infrastructure”, Trudeau said Tuesday during a roundtable discussion with business leaders. Historically, Luo acknowledged China has had warmer connections with Canada’s Liberal-led governments. Houlden says China made a big investment into Alberta oilfields and since the recession hit, they are not seeing the return they normally would. “The individuals concerned will also be treated in a humanitarian way”.
Li said both Canada and China will defend the liberalization of worldwide trade and the promotion of a simpler implementation of investments in the global community.
Trudeau made the announcement about the extension in Beijing, where the canola dispute was expected to dominate the trade agenda during his high-level meetings and the G20, which gets underway later this week.
From Canada’s perspective, the stakes of the visit are also very high.
China is now Canada’s second largest trading partner.
Industry participants say the new standard, under which China will reduce the amount of foreign matter allowed per shipment to no more than 1 percent from 2.5 percent, would significantly raise costs for exporters.
But as Trudeau tries to create a fresh tone with China, he will have to navigate several ongoing irritants.
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.
Trudeau himself has indicated in the past that there’s no evidence to support the accusations against Garratt.
Balancing such issues is sure to complicate Trudeau’s goal of making inroads.
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But economists like Jim Stanford warn Canada should be careful when it comes to opening up new trade channels with China – because it could make the existing relationship even more lopsided.
