The Canadian Press
OTTAWA—With Prime Minister Justin Trudeau set to embark on his first official visit to China, the Chinese government is trying to ease concerns about its human rights record as a way to encourage a deeper business relationship with Canada.
The economic superpower sees last year’s election of Trudeau’s Liberal government as a “new opportunity” to strengthen business ties between the two countries, China’s ambassador to Canada told The Canadian Press.
For both sides, the expectations around Trudeau’s week-long trip are high.
Trudeau, who left for China this morning, will focus on building the economic connection between the two countries.
On Friday, he described the trip as something of a “reset” in the relationship.
The prime minister, however, also has vowed to continue Canada’s practice of voicing its concerns at the highest levels of the Chinese leadership over the country’s record on human rights, democracy, and governance.
While China has championed the need for the two countries to pursue a free-trade deal, the Trudeau government has taken a more cautious approach amid public worries over human rights.
Ahead of Trudeau’s visit, the Chinese government made an attempt to calm those fears.
Ambassador Luo Zhaohui discussed human rights himself last week during an interview at the Chinese Embassy in Ottawa.
“You say you’re concerned about human rights issues? I think this is understandable,” Luo said.
“Every country has their own problems with human rights issues,” he noted.
“No country thinks that their human rights situation is perfect.
“[In] China, we’ve got a long way to go to improve the human rights situation,” Luo conceded.
“But at the same time, we have also made a lot of progress in the past many years.”
The Chinese government has had renewed optimism—and “high expectations”—about its relationship with Canada, particularly since Trudeau’s Liberals came to power, Luo said.
Through 10 years of working with the Conservative government, he said Canada-China relations made some progress, but noted that sometimes the “pace and priorities” were “quite different.”
Canada’s relationship with China under the Harper government was inconsistent at times, many experts say.
Historically, Luo acknowledged China has had warmer connections with Canada’s Liberal-led governments.
He said China viewed the Jean Chrétien era as the “golden years” in its business dealings with Canada.
The country, Luo added, also hasn’t forgotten how Trudeau’s father, Pierre Trudeau, was among the first western leaders to recognize “new China” when he established diplomatic ties in 1970.
“This is so important,” he stressed, describing China’s expectations for the younger Trudeau’s visit, which will include meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang.
Luo noted the significance of Li’s scheduled visit to Canada—a trip expected in late September.
“Within a very short time, the two countries [will] exchange high-level visits,” Luo said.
“That’s quite unusual and it really shows . . . we attach great importance for these bilateral relations.”
Trudeau’s itinerary will be packed with business-related meetings, as well as the G20 leaders’ summit.
Between Aug. 30 and Sept. 7, he will make stops in Beijing, Shanghai, Hangzhou, and Hong Kong.
