By Maria Cheng
BEIJING, Jan 16 (Reuters) – Canada and China are forging a new strategic partnership that stands to yield “historic” gains by leveraging on the strengths of each, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney told Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Friday.
The first Canadian prime minister to visit China since 2017, Carney was on a mission to rebuild ties with Canada’s second-largest trading partner after the United States, following months of diplomatic efforts to resolve earlier tension.
“It is important to start this new strategic partnership at a time of division,” Carney told Xi, calling for focus on areas that can bring “historic gains” for both, such as agriculture, agri-food, energy, and finance.
“That is where I believe we can make immediate and sustained progress,” he added.
Canada is looking to strengthen ties with the world’s second-biggest economy after U.S. President Donald Trump imposed tariffs on some of its goods and suggested the longtime U.S. ally could become the country’s 51st state.
China, similarly hit by Trump’s tariffs since he returned to the White House last year, is also keen to cooperate with a Group of Seven nation in a traditional sphere of U.S. influence.
(Reporting by Maria Cheng; Writing by Ryan Woo; Editing by Himani Sarkar and Clarence Fernandez)
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