PM wants to engage on trade, human rights, investment with China
Prime Minister SAGUENAY, QUE. Justin Trudeau says breathing new life into Canada’s relationship with China will allow his government to bolster economic trade while pushing the East Asian country to do better on delicate issues like its record on human rights.
“What we need with China is to reset the relationship a little bit,” Trudeau said Friday.
Trudeau is heading to China for an official visit next week, and is vowing to handle things differently than the previous Conservative government, which he characterized as having a “hot and cold” approach that got in the way of meaningful engagement.
He said he will broach how China can allow Canadian products and services greater access to its growing middle-class market, as well as thornier issues such as how the Chinese government can improve on human rights, governance and democracy.
China might want the rest of the world to see it has a friend in Canada, Trudeau suggested. “Canada has earned a reputation as a country that stands up strongly and clearly for human rights, and working with Canada in a positive way will be very good for China to continue to demonstrate that it is serious about taking on the responsibilities that come with having an increasingly large footprint on the world stage.”
Still, the economic file alone — over a looming trade irritant involving exports of canola — could end up posing its fair share of risks to the relationship.
On Friday, a senior government official confirmed Trudeau intends to raise the canola dispute during his visit. The official said the government is tracking the issue, but offered no additional updates.
Asked about the concerns domestic producers might have about the dispute or the persistent question of foreign investment in the oilsands, Trudeau said any talk of further opening up Canada to the world must focus on creating jobs, growing the economy and ensuring our goods have access to foreign markets.
“These are the interests that we are going to be strongly and carefully balancing as we engage with the economic powerhouse that is China,” he said.