At the invitation of Foreign Minister Wang Yi, Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland came to China for the second annual meeting of the Chinese and Canadian foreign ministers on August 9. The United Nations Coordinating Agency for International Cooperation and Deputy Secretary Wei Yan attended a joint interview.
At 11:30 a.m. the same day, Foreign Minister Wang Yi held the second annual meeting of Chinese and Canadian foreign ministers in Beijing with Canadian Foreign Minister Freeland. The two foreign ministers affirmed that the current Sino-Canadian relations maintained a good momentum and hoped that they could seize the current important opportunities and open up a new golden era for bilateral relations.
Wang Yi: “This year marks the 150th anniversary of the founding of Canada. It is an important year for Canada. It is also an opportunity for me to express my warmest congratulations to the Canadian people on behalf of China.”
The wishes from the Chinese Foreign Minister opened the second annual meeting of the Chinese and Canadian foreign ministers. In the past year, China-Canada relations have continued to heat up. In June, the first annual foreign ministerial meeting between China and Canada was held in Ottawa, Canada. In September, the Chinese and Canadian prime ministers exchanged visits within one month. China-Canada relations have a traditional friendly foundation. As early as the 1970s, Canada became one of the first western countries to recognize the New China. In the 90's, during the Prime Minister Chretien’s administration, he and the Chinese leaders jointly created the relationship between Canada and China. The golden decade."
Wang Yi said in the meeting that China is willing to strengthen communication with the Canadian side and cooperate closely with it to promote the new development of the China-Canada strategic partnership. “Canada is one of the first western countries to establish diplomatic ties with China. With our joint efforts, our bilateral relations have maintained a momentum of development. In particular, last year, the two countries’ premiers exchanged visits within a month. Whether it is In the history of China-Canada relations, or in international exchanges, it is very rare and the foreign countries have shown the desire of the two countries to close and deepen mutually beneficial cooperation.We hope that through our common efforts, we can jointly create a new golden era for bilateral relations. ”
Wang Yi proposed that China and Canada should continue to maintain high-level contacts with all other sectors, make good use of relevant dialogue mechanisms, strengthen strategic planning for bilateral relations, and promote the establishment of China-Canada Free Trade Area as the main line and deepen mutually beneficial cooperation in all fields; In order to jointly combat transnational crimes, we must expand cooperation in anti-corruption and judicial enforcement; we must properly handle differences and sensitive issues in a spirit of mutual respect; we must strengthen coordination in the multilateral field and maintain the international system with the United Nations at its core to jointly tackle global issues. challenge.
Ms. Freeland, Canada’s foreign minister, served as Canada’s trade minister and played a very important role in promoting China-Canada trade cooperation. In the meeting that day, she said that the Canadian side attaches great importance to the development of Canada-China relations and regards it as a priority for Canada’s diplomacy. Gabon is willing to maintain high-level exchanges with China and actively explore negotiations to launch the Canada-China Free Trade Agreement and strengthen various fields. Exchanges and cooperation to promote greater progress in bilateral relations. The Canadian side adheres to the one-China policy and understands China’s position and concerns on issues such as Taiwan and Tibet, and will handle it properly. The Canadian side attaches importance to China’s role in global affairs and is willing to cooperate with China to jointly safeguard the international order and promote free trade.
During the meeting, both sides also exchanged opinions on the Korean Peninsula and other international and regional issues.
The annual meeting between the Chinese and Canadian foreign ministers started from 2016. In addition, the two countries also started the annual meeting of the prime minister from last year. Both countries are looking forward to deepening pragmatic cooperation in various fields and jointly creating a new "golden age" in China-Canada relations.