Canada moving quickly to strengthen ties with China, according to Canadian ambassador

Canadian ambassador Jennifer May says her country is working rapidly on key issues it has with China aiming to strengthen bilateral ties, according to a report in a state-controlled Chinese newspaper.

She told China Daily on Thursday that she is looking forward to a visit to China from Prime Minister Mark Carney’s visit to China. He has accepted Beijing’s invitation to visit China at “a mutually convenient time,” she said this week at a reception marking the 55th anniversary of the founding of diplomatic ties with the Asian superpower. The reception was co-hosted by the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries , a state-affiliated organization, and the Canadian embassy on Wednesday evening in Beijing.

The two countries shifted toward improved relations during a bilateral meeting last month in the Republic of Korea. Carney met with Chinese president Xi Jinping on the margins of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Economic Leaders’ Meeting in Gyeongju. It was the first Canada-China leaders’ meeting since 2017 .

According to a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office the leaders acknowledged a long history of cooperation rooted in 55 years of diplomatic relations and trade and “agreed that their meeting marked a turning point in the bilateral relationship.” Both leaders directed their officials to resolve outstanding trade issues such as canola, seafood and electric vehicles. They also discussed a framework to deepen cooperation in the areas of clean and conventional energy, climate change, manufacturing and international finance.

“We highly appreciate the proactive stance of the new Canadian government in promoting the improvement and development of bilateral relations,” Yang Wanming, president of the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, told China Daily.

While the world is going through “a period of profound global upheaval, an era shaped by shifting geopolitics and economic volatility,” China Daily quotes May as saying , “within this uncertainty, there is also opportunity.” She reportedly noted the prime minister has committed to doubling Canada’s non-U.S. exports over the next decade, increasing engagement with economies such as China’s.

China is Canada’s second-largest trading partner, according to the Conference Board of Canada , as well as the second-largest source of imports, and second-largest export market. In the first eight months of this year, Canadian exports to China increased by 7.8 percent year-on-year. Canada began exporting liquefied natural gas to China in April.

While China-Canada relations reached a low ebb in recent years , “cooperation between the two countries in trade, energy, and cultural exchanges has yielded fruitful results, and has brought tangible benefits to the people of both nations,” Yang told China Daily.  “Looking ahead, China and Canada should translate the important consensus reached by our leaders into concrete actions and work together to steer our relations back to a healthy, stable, and sustainable path.”

May noted in the China Daily report that Canadian products and expertise are popular in China. This includes education, financial services, and sustainable infrastructure for clean conventional energy. “(We) can help China simultaneously meet its growing energy needs and climate goals.”

She reportedly said “this is one of our most consequential trading relationships,” and Canada is committed to working with China “as we look to address trade challenges and advance cooperation to shape a forward-looking economic relationship.”

“Fifty-five years is a milestone that invites us to reflect on our history, what we have achieved together, and how we navigated deeply complex and changing times,” May told China Daily Asia . “I want to be very clear that we are here to build this relationship and to build it strong.”

At the reception, both Yang and May referred to Canadian trauma surgeon, the late Dr. Norman Bethune , who worked in China to bring modern medicine to rural China. He is a national hero in China and a symbol of two-way friendship.

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