Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau sought to open a bilateral trade agreement with China in his recent five-day visit that concluded on December 7. While he met with both President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang in Beijing, bilateral negotiations were not formally established.
Trudeau voiced the need to include human rights, clean growth, gender equality and ”the rule of law” in any negotiations. Despite the lack of formal negotiations, both China and Canada agreed that a “free trade deal will benefit both sides.” China promised to keep working with the Canadian representatives to begin trade talks as soon as possible. The trade talks started a year ago but have become more significant for Canada as the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) is under renegotiation and US President Donald Trump has threatened to withdraw from it if his recommendations are not adopted.
Trudeau also participated in the Fortune Global Forum where he promoted international commerce and trade with Canada to China’s largest firms.