Canada, China pledge to mend relations after foreign affairs ministers meet in Beijing

Canada and China pledged to advance relations in a "pragmatic" manner on Friday, as the two countries move to stabilize bilateral ties following more than six years of frosty relations over the imprisonment of two Canadian citizens.

Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met in Beijing — the first face-to-face talks in China's capital involving a Canadian foreign minister since 2017.

"The two ministers took note of recent positive developments in relations, including the resumption of consular consultations, and the recent exchanges at senior levels," says a readout – or summary – of the meeting released by Global Affairs Canada. "Minister Joly's visit reaffirms the Minister's commitment to pragmatic engagement with China and the development of sound and stable bilateral relations."

The statement goes on to say that China "indicated a willingness to explore opportunities to strengthen engagement" on such issues as climate and the environment, curbing the fentanyl crisis and working to improve trade relations.

The Chinese foreign ministry's own readout echoed the Canadian side's description of the talks. "It is in the fundamental interests of both countries and peoples to maintain and develop good bilateral relations," said the statement, translated by CBC News.

"As two major countries with important influence in the Asia-Pacific region, both countries share extensive common interests and complementary advantages."

Henri-Paul Normandin, a former Canadian diplomat who was posted to China, said Friday's meeting is the first step in repairing the rift.

"It strikes me that the readout from the Chinese side of the meeting is rather positive in tone," Normandin told CBC News.

"The significance of the meeting lies in the simple fact that it took place and channels of communication have been reopened.

"The meeting does not imply that the tensions and the issues that are out there are going to be solved in the near to medium term. The issues are there. There will have to be more discussions. There might be progress, but at least now some channels of communications have been opened."

Friday's meeting is an attempt by Ottawa to reset relations with the world's second-biggest economy, which deteriorated after the December 2018 detention of Canadians Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor by Beijing. Their arrests were widely seen as retaliation for the Vancouver arrest of Huawei's chief financial officer, Meng Wanzhou, at the behest of the U.S. to face fraud charges related to American sanctions against Iran.

Although all three were released in 2021, the two countries have continued to butt heads.

The statement released by China after Friday's meeting was remarkable because it was devoid of the strongly-worded attacks on, and overt animosity toward, Canada that have been typical of official statements by Beijing over the past six years.

Instead, Friday's 800-word readout was measured and diplomatic.