Ottawa | Reuters — Prime Minister Mark Carney will meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday afternoon in South Korea, the prime minister’s office said on Thursday.
Carney arrived in Asia earlier this week in an effort to deepen trade and security ties in the region, at a time when Canada is struggling to lessen its overwhelming dependence on the U.S. and seek new markets. China is Canada’s second-biggest trading partner, after the U.S.
The prime minister has previously stressed the need to restart broad engagement with China after years of poor relations. Under the leadership of Carney’s predecessor Justin Trudeau, Canadian citizens were detained and executed by the Chinese government, Canada’s security authorities concluded China interfered in at least two federal elections, and Xi publicly scolded Trudeau, alleging he leaked their discussions to the press.
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Carney agrees to visit China after meeting Xi
Prime Minister Mark Carney agreed to visit China after meeting with President Xi Jinping on Friday, in an encounter that may have marked a turning point but offered no breakthroughs on trade.
China announced preliminary anti-dumping duties on Canadian canola imports in August, a year after Canada said it would levy a 100 per cent tariff on imports of Chinese electric vehicles.
Senior Canadian and Chinese officials discussed the canola and electric vehicles dispute earlier this month, Ottawa said, but gave no indication of any immediate breakthrough.
During a visit of Canada’s foreign minister Anita Anand to Beijing several weeks ago, her counterpart Wang Yi said China hoped to enhance communication, eliminate interference and rebuild mutual trust with Canada.
— Reporting by Maria Cheng and Katharine Jackson.
