Canada and China pledged Friday to make “practical” progress in stabilizing relations that have been chilly for more than six years over the imprisonment of two Canadian citizens.
Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly and her Chinese counterpart Wang Yi met in Beijing, the first time that Canadian foreign ministers have met in person in the Chinese capital since 2017.
“The two ministers noted recent positive developments in bilateral relations, including the resumption of consular consultations and recent high-level exchanges,” a summary of the meeting released by Canada’s foreign affairs department said. “Minister Jolie’s visit reaffirms her commitment to pragmatic engagement with China and the development of a sound and stable bilateral relationship.”
The statement also said China “indicated a willingness to explore opportunities to enhance engagement” on issues such as climate and the environment, curbing the fentanyl crisis and working to improve trade relations.
A Chinese foreign ministry statement echoed the Canadian explanation for the meeting: “Maintaining and developing good bilateral relations is in the fundamental interests of our two countries and peoples,” the statement, translated by CBC News, said.
“As two major powers with significant influence in the Asia-Pacific region, our two countries share extensive common interests and complementary advantages.”
Henri-Paul Normandin, a former Canadian diplomat in China, said Friday’s meeting was a first step in repairing the rift.
“The Chinese announcement about the meeting seemed to have a pretty positive tone,” Normandin told CBC News.
“The importance of the meeting lies in the simple fact that it took place and that channels of communication have been reopened.
“This meeting does not mean that the current tensions and problems will be resolved in the short to medium term. The problems exist and will require further discussion. There may be progress, but at least now some channels of communication are open.”
Friday’s meeting is an attempt by the Canadian government to repair ties with the world’s second-largest economy, which have deteriorated since the December 2018 detention in Beijing of Canadians Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor. Their arrests were widely seen as retaliation for the arrest in Vancouver, at the request of the United States, of Huawei Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou on fraud charges related to U.S. sanctions against Iran.
All three were released in 2021, but the two countries continue to clash.
Chinese President Xi Jinping cornered Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at the G20 summit, criticizing him for publishing details of the previous day’s meeting, which ended without a clear agreement to condemn Russia’s war in Ukraine.
The statement released by China after Friday’s talks was notable for being completely devoid of the strongly worded attacks and overt hostility toward Canada that have been typical of Beijing’s official statements over the past six years.
Instead, Friday 800 Word Read He was more cautious and diplomatic.
“China-Canada relations have long been at the forefront of China’s relations with the Western countries,” the statement said. “There is no fundamental conflict of interest between China and Canada.”
After the talks in the Chinese capital, a senior Canadian government official said the ministers had held “constructive and productive discussions.”
The meeting was held [Canada] “We were trying to achieve that in the bilateral relationship,” the source told CBC News. “We wanted to express our concerns and we wanted to address issues of common interest to the Chinese people and the Canadian people.”
Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly made a surprise visit to China in an attempt to improve frosty relations between Canada and Beijing. Joly is scheduled to meet face-to-face with her Chinese counterpart, the first time a Canadian foreign minister has done so in nearly seven years.
Both sides expressed concern over tensions between the two countries during their talks on Friday.
A Canadian source told CBC News that Jolie raised the issue of reports about Chinese political interference in the country’s politics.
Canadian intelligence agencies have said they believe the Chinese government interfered in the 2019 and 2021 federal elections. China has also “Police station” They threatened and pursued Chinese immigrants in Canada. Targeting families The comments were made by Conservative MP Michael Chong, who has been critical of China’s treatment of the Uighur Muslim minority in the country’s Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region.
China says it seeks to improve ties but official statements say some issues are off the table.
“All issues relating to Taiwan, Tibet, Xinjiang and Hong Kong are China’s internal affairs and no outside interference will be tolerated,” the statement said.
Human Rights Watch says at least one million Uighurs and other Muslims in Xinjiang have been arbitrarily detained in prisons and “pretrial detention” facilities that China calls “re-education” or “vocational training” camps.
In 2021, the majority of MPs, including most of the Liberal Party members who participated, Voted in favour of the Conservative motion It declared that China’s actions in the western Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region fall under the definition of genocide set out in the 1948 United Nations Genocide Convention.
The final vote was 266 in favor and zero against. Two MPs formally abstained. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and almost all of his cabinet were absent from the vote.
China did not explicitly mention Meng’s arrest and the subsequent imprisonment of Kovrig and Spavor – which Canada claims were arbitrary – but said “China-Canada relations have experienced difficulties and twists and turns in recent years, but this is not what China wants and Canada needs to seriously reflect on it.”