China Daily Exclusive

Hu's canada visit improves bilateral relations

By Wu Jiao and Ma Liyao (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-06-26 10:26

Canada's Prime Minister Stephen Harper (L) looks on with Peter Milliken, Speaker of the House of Commons (R) as China's President Hu Jintao looks up after signing the visitors guest book on Parliament Hill in Ottawa June 24, 2010. [Agencies]

China wishes to develop ties with Canada 'from a new starting point': Hu

Ottawa - Day-long meetings between President Hu Jintao and Canadian leaders on Thursday might make cantankerous relations between the two countries a thing of the past.

Governor General Michaelle Jean, together with her family, greeted President Hu at the Rideau Hall on Thursday morning to pay tribute to the "enduring friendship" between the two countries.

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"Your visit to our country and our upcoming visit to yours show the extent of the enduring friendship that has existed between Canada and China for many years," said Jean, who begins her visit to China next Wednesday.

"We hope that these visits will give rise to even more opportunities for exchanges between our two countries," she said.

Hu said: "China wishes to join Canada in a concerted effort to treat and develop our relations from a strategic and long-term perspective, strengthen our friendly exchanges, expand win-win cooperation and further advance our strategic partnership from a new starting point."

Prime Minister Stephen Harper later met with Hu on Thursday afternoon ahead of the two-day G20 summit, which kicks off on Saturday, and emphasized that China has been among one of the priorities of Canada's foreign policy.

Harper made his first visit to China late last year after nearly four years in office.

"I always look forward to our discussions, and there's no time greater than at this moment in our history and in the world's history," Harper said.

Discussions between Hu and Harper turned out to be successful and ended with the signing of extensive new deals.

Bilateral relations between China and Canada escalated in 2005, but virtually "iced" soon after, following abrupt moves from Harper.

Dimitri Soudas, Harper's director of communications, said the two sides found they saw eye-to-eye on a number of issues heading into the G8 and G20 summits, including their opposition to a global bank tax and their feeling that debt repayment and fiscal consolidation were paramount to the global economic recovery.

Pang Zhongying, a senior expert on world politics at the Renmin University of China held an optimistic but cautious attitude toward the warming relations, calling the "economic" ties "fragile".

"Huge mutual interests override all divergence," Pang said, adding that difficulties will rise as cooperation deepens.

Lan Lijun, the Chinese ambassador to Canada, told Xinhua on Monday that the increasing people-to-people exchange between the two countries is a star in bilateral relations in addition to the indispensable economic ties.