A meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney in South Korea on Friday “marked a turning point in the bilateral relationship,” Carney’s office announced.
The two leaders met on the margins of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Gyeongju. The meeting follows an agreement between Xi and US President Donald Trump on Thursday on easing Chinese-US trade relations.
“Both leaders directed their officials to move quickly to resolve outstanding trade issues and irritants,” Carney’s office said. “They discussed solutions to respective sensitivities regarding issues including agriculture and agri-food products, such as canola, as well as seafood and electric vehicles.”
They also discussed cooperation on energy, manufacturing, climate change and international finance, and Carney accepted an invitation to visit China “at a mutually convenient time.”
China’s official Xinhua news agency reported that Xi described the meeting as an opportunity to return mutual relations to a healthy path, stressing that the two countries should regard each other in a “correct” way.
The improvement in previously troubled Chinese-Canadian relations followed Trump’s announcement of additional 10% tariffs on Canada over what he saw as a misleading Canadian advertising campaign against tariffs.
Canada and China had also raised tariffs. In August, Beijing imposed restrictions on canola imports, after Ottawa slapped a 100% tariff on Chinese-made electrical vehicles.
Earlier points of difference include the arrest of a Huawei executive by Canadian authorities in 2018 and the detention of two Canadians in China.
