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Dewey Sim

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has urged Canada to “seriously reflect” on their strained relationship, calling for an improvement as he cited “no fundamental conflict of interest” between the two countries.
In a meeting with his Canadian counterpart Melanie Joly in Beijing on Friday, Wang held up Canada ties as being “at the forefront” of China’s relations with Western economies.
But he also pointed to “difficulties and twists” in recent years.
“[That] is not what China wants to see and requires Canada to seriously reflect on it,” he said, according to a readout published by the Chinese foreign ministry.
“There is no fundamental conflict of interest between China and Canada, and the two peoples have a long history of friendly exchanges.”
China and Canada, as major countries with important influence in Asia-Pacific, have “extensive common interests” and maintaining and developing relations is in the interests of both sides, Wang was quoted as saying.
China-Canada ties have soured in recent years, partly due to the tit-for-tat arrests in 2018, when a top Huawei Technologies executive was held in Vancouver on fraud charges at the request of the US, followed by China detaining two Canadians living in the country on charges of espionage.
Canada had accused China of engaging in “hostage diplomacy” before a deal was eventually reached with US prosecutors in 2021 that saw all three people released.
Relations were further strained over accusations of Chinese meddling in Canadian elections and an attempted intimidation of lawmakers that resulted in the expulsion of a Chinese diplomat last year.
China has repeatedly denied claims of interference.
According to Wang, China and Canada needed to treat each other with mutual respect, handle differences in the spirit of seeking common ground, and deepen cooperation based on mutual benefit.
The two sides should “promote the improvement of bilateral relations and move forward along a healthy and stable track”, he said.

With next year marking the 20th anniversary of the establishment of the China-Canada strategic partnership, the two countries should “return to their original intentions”, and “inject momentum into the normalisation of bilateral relations”, Wang said.
He called on both countries to explore dialogue and cooperation in various fields, and urged Canada to take “practical actions” to facilitate personnel exchanges.
Wang also said issues relating to Taiwan, Tibet, Xinjiang and Hong Kong were part of China’s domestic politics and that Canada should not interfere in them.
According to a Canadian readout, the two ministers held an “extended” meeting, where they discussed bilateral issues as well as global ones such as the wars in Ukraine and Gaza.
Joly told Wang that Canada would “continue to defend our democracy and the values it has always stood for, including human rights, the rule of law, and the principles enshrined in the UN Charter”.
The two leaders also discussed ways to strengthen engagements in areas including trade and environmental protection, and agreed to advance “concrete measures” to promote people-to-people ties, such as for tourists and students.
“The ministers agreed on the importance of maintaining open lines of communication and committed to holding regular discussions at the ministerial level, including on peace and security, and trade,” the Canadian readout said.
Joly is the first Canadian foreign minister to hold face-to-face talks with their Chinese counterpart in Beijing in nearly seven years. Her three-day visit to China ends today.
The Canadian statement said the visit reaffirmed Joly’s commitment to “pragmatic engagement” with China and the development of “sound and stable” relations.
Chinese and Canadian leaders last met in Indonesia in November 2022, when President Xi Jinping criticised Prime Minister Justin Trudeau over alleged leaks of discussions at a closed-door meeting.
In a phone call with Joly earlier this year, Wang said Beijing was open to maintaining dialogue with Canada and did not want to see a continuation of the “difficult situation”.
He said then that the “serious deviation of Canada’s perception of China” had led to ties reaching “a low point”.


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Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi with his Canadian counterpart  Melanie Joly in Beijing on Friday. Photo: Xinhua

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News

China

Diplomacy

China-Canada ties ‘at the forefront’ of Beijing’s relations with the West, Foreign Minister Wang Yi tells Canadian counterpart Melanie Joly


China-Canada ties ‘at the forefront’ of Beijing’s relations with the West, Foreign Minister Wang Yi tells Canadian counterpart Melanie Joly.
