Trudeau touts Canada’s agricultural safety amid China canola dispute

With Canada’s economy expected to have shrunk by 1.5 per cent in the second quarter, Trudeau is seeking to reboot relations and boost economic ties with China, Canada’s second-largest trading partner after the United States.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau left early Monday for China for an eight-day visit meant to strengthen relations between China and Canada, and for attending the Group of 20 (G20) summit among other agendas.

Trudeau, who is accompanied by his wife Sophie Gregoire Trudeau, said last week that he hopes the visit will be a reset in the relationship between the two countries.

The Guardian reports that before embarking on his trip, Trudeau faced several calls by activists to highlight concerns over human rights abuses, such as Tibet and the treatment of Falun Gong practitioners, with his Chinese counterparts. Chinese investors accounted for 65.4 per cent of more than US$2 billion in deals across the country in the first half, according to the Canadian broadcaster CBC.

“This is an issue that governments over the years have never got right”, said Alex Neve, director of Amnesty International Canada.

The Chinese government moved last week to take the sting out of a potential irritant during the visit, the issue of human rights. I don’t know where that comes from.

A frank admission – and far more constructive than the finger-wagging lecture that a Chinese minister delivered three months ago to a Canadian reporter who dared to raise the touchy subject during a news conference in Ottawa.

Conservative trade critic Gerry Ritz, who served as agriculture minister under former prime minister Stephen Harper, expressed misgivings about the Liberal government’s ability to resolve the dispute, given that Canada’s softwood lumber deal with the US remains unrenewed. One person directly involved in the matter said this was still the case.

The prime minister tried to sell China on the idea that strengthening its connection to Canada would ease worldwide concerns about the stunning rise of the economic superpower.

On Wednesday in Beijing, Finance Minister Bill Morneau will meet with Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank president Jin Liqun.

The government of Justin’s father, Pierre Trudeau, recognised the People’s Republic of China in 1970, making Canada one of the first Western countries to have diplomatic ties with Beijing.

Back on the mainland, Families and Social Development Minister Jean-Yves Duclos joins provincial and municipal leaders for an “important infrastructure event” at the Levis town hall while Status of Women Minister Patty Hajdu drops by the Dawson Trail Craft Brewery to show Team Trudeau’s support for “small business development and growth” in Thunder Bay. “China blames his predecessor for the current poor relations but still believes Trudeau could bring changes”.