“[China] is willing to work with Canada to take this meeting as an opportunity to bring China-Canada relations back onto the right track,” Xi said, according to state news agency Xinhua.
The Chinese leader added that China and Canada should view each other “correctly” and expand cooperation in areas ranging from trade and the economy to energy while deepening people-to-people exchanges. The Xinhua report said the two leaders agreed to push to resolve economic issues.
According to Xinhua, Carney said the new Canadian government highly valued its ties with Beijing, looked forward to restarting bilateral cooperation and sought to “make up for lost time” – an apparent reference to heightened tensions between the two countries in recent years.
An official Canadian statement said the two leaders agreed that the talks – which Canadian media said lasted 39 minutes – marked a “turning point in the bilateral relationship”, and they committed to renewing ties in a pragmatic way.
“Both leaders directed their officials to move quickly to resolve outstanding trade issues and irritants,” the statement from Ottawa said, adding that Carney had accepted Xi’s invitation to visit China at a mutually convenient time.
