Xi said that diplomatic relations between China and Canada have been moving forward steadily – and that there is great potential for further cooperation between the two countries.
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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.
Government negotiators in China are working hard to resolve a dispute that could affect Canadian canola exports, says Canada’s global trade minister.
Justin Trudeau says China should strengthen its connection to Canada as a way for the rapidly growing superpower to burnish its image on the world stage.
“This is really for us, as a new government, the earliest possibility at which we could indicate our interest”, Canadian finance minister Bill Morneau was quoted as saying by Reuters.
But Robertson said Trudeau has a better chance of reaching deals with China because the prime minister’s father, who is also a former prime minister of Canada, was one of the first Western leaders to recognize communist China in 1971.
“This is an issue that governments over the years have never got right”, said Alex Neve, director of Amnesty International Canada.
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. The bank was established to support the development of Chinese infrastructure.
A senior Canadian official said Wednesday that some technical discussions related to free trade with China have been held and will continue, but the official stressed that there have been no negotiations.
As a result, Canada’s trade imbalance with China past year hit $46 billion, and is growing fast.
“I tend to chuckle right out loud when I hear Trudeau talk about the chill that was the Canada-China relationship”, Ritz said in a recent interview.
Trudeau and Li also announced an agreement to extend a September 1 deadline that China had imposed on Canada to tighten its screening of canola exports, which could have led to major losses for Canadian farmers.
Charles Burton, a China expert at Brock University, cautioned that “residual good feelings” about the relationship’s past won’t be enough to overcome any current difficulties, and the appearance of too much friendliness with China could pose domestic issues for Trudeau.
On Tuesday, Trudeau hinted that Canada’s application had been in the works.
“Around the world there is anxiety around trade, there is anxiety around China”, Trudeau told a question-and-answer session at the China Entrepreneur Club.
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Saint-Jacques, who has served as ambassador in Beijing for almost four years, said China has made lots of progress on human rights when it comes to improving economic conditions, including its feat of helping lift 600 million people out of poverty.
