Photo: Screenshot from Ministry of Finance

China is willing to resume dialogue and cooperation in economic, financial and other fields with Canada, Chinese Vice Minister of Finance Liao Min said on Thursday.

Liao made remarks when meeting with former Canadian prime minister Jean Chretien in Beijing. The two sides exchanged views on bilateral economic and trade relations and two-way investment, according to the official website of Ministry of Finance on Monday.  

The meeting took place prior to Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney's official visit to China, scheduled for January 14-17.

Liao noted that Chretien is an old friend of the Chinese people who has made consistent and positive contributions to China-Canada relations.

China is ready to work with Canada to effectively implement the important common understandings reached between the leaders of the two countries, resume dialogue and cooperation in the economic, financial and other fields, and promote the healthy, stable and sustainable development of bilateral relations as well as bilateral economic and trade ties, Liao said. 

Chretien appraised the current positive momentum in Canada-China relations, saying that the stable development of bilateral ties is in the interests of the people of both countries. 

He noted that the two countries' economies are highly complementary and have broad prospects for cooperation. He also expressed the willingness to continue contributing to the development of Canada-China relations and Canada-China economic and trade relations.

In April of 2017, China and Canada launched an economic and financial strategic dialogue in Beijing, pledging expanded cooperation on areas including trade, investment, finance and science to add new impetus to the bilateral strategic partnership, according to the Xinhua News Agency.

The first round of strategic dialogue kicked off in November of 2018, as the two countries are seeking to deepen cooperation and jointly face global challenges. The two sides achieved more than 50 win-win results at the conference and discussed the macroeconomic situation, global economic governance, and cooperation in trade, investment, and finance.

Regarding the coming official visit of Canadian Prime Minister Carney, Mao Ning, a spokesperson of Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Monday that the sound and steady development of China-Canada relations aligns with the common interests of both countries and their peoples and contributes to global peace, stability, development and prosperity. 

China looks forward to leveraging the visit as an opportunity to strengthen dialogue and communication, enhance political mutual trust, expand practical cooperation, properly manage differences, address mutual concerns, consolidate the positive momentum in bilateral relations, and better benefit the peoples of both nations, Mao said. 

Global Times