According to Carney, the relationship "will not only deepen our bilateral ties to the benefit of our peoples but will also—from our judgement—help improve the multilateral system—a system that, in recent years, has come under great strain,"
Euronews reports.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on Friday hailed what he called a strategic Canada-China partnership in his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, as both sides aim to deepen bilateral ties after nearly ten years of poor relations between Beijing and Ottawa.
Speaking at the start of a bilateral meeting with the Chinese leader, Carney said he is “extremely pleased” that Ottawa and Beijing are quickly moving forward with their new strategic partnership.
According to Carney, the relationship "will not only deepen our bilateral ties to the benefit of our peoples but will also—from our judgement—help improve the multilateral system—a system that, in recent years, has come under great strain."
On his part, Xi told Carney he is “heartened” by the progress the two sides have made since “resuming and restarting” the relationship in recent months.
Xi described the leaders’ last meeting on the sidelines of the APEC summit in South Korea in October as a “turnaround” in the Canada-China relationship.
“A healthy, stable Canada-China is in the interest of our two countries and in the peace and stability of the world,” Xi added.
Carney's four-day trip to China, which began on Wednesday, is the first by a Canadian leader to China in eight years and follows several years of acrimony over issues ranging from Canada’s 2018 arrest of a senior Chinese tech executive to 100% Canadian tariffs on China-made electric vehicles.
