Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, holds talks with Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs Mélanie Joly in Beijing on July 19, 2024. Photo: Chinese Foreign Ministry

 
As Canada's Foreign Minister kicked off a visit to China for the first time in nearly seven years on Thursday, experts said on Friday that the long-awaited bilateral high-level meeting is expected to have a significant and positive impact on enhancing bilateral relations, and could also pave the way for increased dialogue and communications between the two countries at various levels in the future.

At the invitation of Member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and Foreign Minister Wang Yi, Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs Melanie Joly will visit China from July 18 to 20, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian announced on Thursday.

During the meeting with Joly on Friday, Wang said that in recent years, China-Canada relations have experienced difficulties and twists, which is not what China wishes to see and requires serious reflection from the Canadian side. 

There are no fundamental conflicts of interest between China and Canada, and the two peoples have a long history of friendly exchanges. As two major countries with significant influence in the Asia-Pacific region, both sides have extensive common interests and complementary advantages. Safeguarding and developing bilateral relations is in the fundamental interests of both countries and their peoples, Wang said.

Wang noted that both sides should view each other in an objective and rational light, treat each other with mutual respect, handle differences in the spirit of seeking common ground while shelving differences, and strengthen cooperation on the basis of equality and mutual benefits. Both countries should take responsible actions for history, their peoples, the present, and the future, to promote the improvement of bilateral relations and develop relations along a healthy and stable track.

Noting that next year marks the 20th anniversary of the establishment of the China-Canada strategic partnership, Wang said the two sides should return to their original intentions, draw lessons from history, earnestly honor their commitment to establishing diplomatic ties, and inject momentum into the normalization of bilateral relations.

Canada should take practical actions to facilitate people-to-people exchanges, maintain cultural ties, and improve the foundation of public opinion between the two countries. Issues related to the Taiwan island, Xizang, Xinjiang, Hong Kong regions, and other matters are solely China's internal affairs and brook no external interference, Wang added. 

Joly spoke about the long history of friendship between the Canadian and Chinese peoples. She said that Canada is willing to actively and pragmatically improve and develop relations with China, and maintain contact and dialogue.

Canada is ready to strengthen cooperation in fields such as the economy and trade, tourism, drug control, climate change, environmental protection and people-to-people exchange to achieve mutually beneficial development, Joly said.

She noted that Canada will continue to abide by the one-China policy.

During Joly's visit, the two sides will have in-depth communication on China-Canada relations and issues of mutual interest and work for the improvement and growth of the bilateral relationship, Lin told a routine press conference.

According to a news release from the Canadian government on Thursday, the two ministers will also discuss possible avenues for collaboration on common challenges, and exchange views on concrete ways to enhance the already deep ties between the people of Canada and China. "I look forward to a productive meeting," Joly said in a statement.

The visit also marked Joly's first trip to China since her appointment as Canadian Foreign Minister in October 2021. A senior Canadian government official with direct knowledge of the visit said that the meeting between the two foreign ministers is a "big step in the right direction" and "an important one" aimed at repairing the deteriorating ties between the two countries, Canadian media outlet CBC News reported on Thursday.

Liu Dan, a researcher at the Center for Regional Country Studies at Guangdong University of Foreign Studies, told the Global Times on Friday that many Canadians have very specific expectations of the China-Canada relationship, including more flights between the two countries, a topic that could also be discussed during this bilateral meeting. 

Liu noted that the dialogue between the two foreign ministers is of great significance for bilateral relations, as it provides an opportunity for the leaders of both sides to address the misunderstandings or contradictions that exist in the current bilateral relationship. "This open discussion is crucial for the improvement of China-Canada relations, especially considering the limited dialogue that has taken place at various levels in recent years," Liu said.

It is hoped that this conversation will pave the way for increased exchanges between senior officials of China and Canada in the future, and that dialogues between the two countries in other fields can gradually resume as well, Liu said.

China-Canada relations have suffered a serious setback in recent years due to the Meng Wanzhou issue, the case of Two Michaels, and Canada's accusations of alleged Chinese "interference" in its elections. Recently in June, the Canadian government said it is preparing potential new tariffs on Chinese-made electric vehicles to align Canada with actions taken by the US and EU, according to media reports.

Canada has shown a lack of diplomatic independence in its relationship with China in the past few years, essentially following the lead of the US, experts said, noting that this has undoubtedly had a negative impact on China-Canada relations. 

"Canada urgently needs to address the longstanding issues and conflicts in bilateral relations with China in order to further resolve and improve ties," Liu said.

According to the Chinese Foreign Ministry, Wang had a phone call with his Canadian counterpart in January, during which the Chinese foreign minister noted that the root cause of the downturn in China-Canada relations in recent years is the serious deviation of the Canadian side's perception of China. "China hopes that the Canadian side can objectively, rationally and correctly interpret China's domestic and foreign policies," Wang said at the time.

Canada should meet China halfway and work toward improving and developing bilateral relations, which is in line with the fundamental interests of both countries, analysts said.