On the 31st, during the APEC summit, Chinese President Xi Jinping met with Canadian Prime Minister Carney, stating that China-Canada relations are showing signs of recovery and positive development. He expressed hope to use this meeting as an opportunity to promote an early return of China-Canada relations to the right track of healthy, stable, and sustainable growth, to better benefit the two peoples.
Carney said that Canada's new government looks forward to seizing the opportunity brought by improved relations between the two countries, to reclaim the original intentions of establishing diplomatic ties, make up for lost time, and restart bilateral cooperation. He also noted that in international affairs, China and Canada share similar ideas and can strengthen collaboration to jointly uphold free trade.
China-Canada relations fell to a low point in 2018 due to the "Meng Wanzhou incident." This is the first formal meeting between the leaders of China and Canada since 2017. China is Canada's second largest trading partner after the United States. Since taking office in March this year, Carney has had multiple confrontations with the US Trump administration on trade and other issues, and has emphasized the need to restart broad engagement with China.
Xi Jinping pointed out that both sides should foster objective and rational perceptions, view each other correctly, and promote the development of China-Canada relations from the perspective of shared and long-term interests. He called for upholding win-win cooperation and expanding practical collaboration in fields such as trade and energy. He also emphasized closer people-to-people exchanges, supporting all sectors in both countries to enhance mutual understanding and strengthen public support for bilateral relations.
Carney stated that since establishing diplomatic relations 55 years ago, Canada and China have maintained good relations for a long period. The new Canadian government attaches great importance to its relationship with China and is willing to strengthen high-level exchanges and promote cooperation in agriculture, energy, climate change, and other fields. He added that in international affairs, China and Canada share similar philosophies, can enhance collaboration, jointly practice multilateralism, and defend free trade.
According to a Xinhua News Agency report, both parties agreed to resume and restart exchanges and cooperation in various fields, advance the resolution of specific economic and trade concerns, consolidate the momentum for a turnaround, and jointly promote the development of the China-Canada strategic partnership.