Ottawa is anticipating a potential meeting between Prime Minister Mark Carney and Chinese President Xi Jinping during an upcoming summit in South Korea, as revealed by a high-ranking Canadian government official on Thursday. Carney, emphasizing the importance of re-establishing a comprehensive dialogue with Beijing following strained relations in recent years, is set to attend an APEC summit in Seoul. He had mentioned in the previous week his anticipation of engaging with senior Chinese officials within the next month.
“We are optimistic about a possible meeting and are making preparations accordingly. It is our desire to facilitate a meeting during APEC if feasible,” expressed a senior government official during a briefing when asked about the likelihood of a meeting with Xi.
In August, China imposed preliminary anti-dumping duties on Canadian canola imports, a year subsequent to Canada’s announcement of imposing a 100 percent tariff on imports of Chinese electric vehicles. The disputes over canola and electric vehicles were addressed by senior Canadian and Chinese officials last Friday, as confirmed by Ottawa, although no immediate resolution was indicated.