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Crossover: Premier Li makes his first visit to Canada

CCTV.com

09-23-2016 10:49 BJT

Full coverage: Premier Li Attends UN Conferences, Visits Canada and Cuba

Full coverage: China’s Leaders

For more on Premier Li's visit to Canada, let's cross live to CCTV correspondent Roee Ruttenberg in Ottawa.

Q1. Li Keqiang is the first Chinese premier to visit Canada in 13 years. The visit also comes just around one month after Trudeau's visit to China. The trip is about half-way over now. How has it gone so far?

Q2. As you mentioned, Beijing and Ottawa are exploring a possible free trade agreement. And we know that China is Canada's second biggest trading partner. How would Canada benefit from this potential deal?

It was a meeting of familiar faces. Chinese Premier Li Keqiang saw Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in China just last month. And as they did then, the two got down to business.  

Specifically, the issue of trade. China is Canada's second biggest trading partner, worth around $50 billion. Trudeau said he and Premier Li agreed on Thursday to try to double that number by 2025.

Justin Trudeau said, "We are pleased to have witnessed the commercial signings today that will help achieve this goal. We know that there's a huge amount of untapped potential in our commercial relationship."

"This new trade target will benefit Canadian workers and business owners, while creating new, well-paying jobs."

China also wants to open talks on a bilateral Free Trade Agreement. But many Canadians remain suspicious of free trade, in general, and of China, in general. Trudeau's openness to a possible extradition deal with China has been met at home with criticism, and concern over the potential for executions.  

A quarter of China's 100 Most Wanted are said to be on Canadian soil. China wants them back, and has defended its judicial system.

Li said, "Extradition requires coordination and consensus from both sides. China has signed extradition treaty with more than 40 countries, including some developed countries in Europe. Both China and Canada are open to talk on this issue."

Paul Evans is an expert on cross-Pacific relations, at the University of British Columbia.

He said, "Fundamentally, what Mr. Trudeau and his government is trying to say is that we need to live together. It's not fundamentally matter of changing China, but living with China."

"And that's a new story for Canadians. It's going to take a little bit of time. There's a missionary impulse here. But building a relationship in a 21st century way, that's where I think Mr. Trudeau wants the future to go."

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