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China’s top diplomat Wang Yi urges Canada to ‘seriously reflect’ on strained ties

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

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

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.

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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.”

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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.

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