Premier Li Keqiang and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau witnessed the signing of bilateral cooperation documents in the fields of education, food security and energy on Dec 4, after they held talks at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.

Trudeau is in China for an official visit from December 3 to 7. This is the second annual dialogue between these two leaders. Premier Li visited Ottawa in September last year, when the two sides agreed to double bilateral commerce by 2025 and the annual dialogue mechanism between Chinese premier and Canadian prime minister was officially launched.

Premier Li spoke highly of the development of Sino-Canadian relations over the past year, and fully affirmed the positive role played by the annual dialogue.

Next year marks the China-Canada year of tourism.

Premier Li said China and Canada should expand further bilateral trade and investment, and encourage enterprises of the two countries to invest, cooperate and explore third-party markets.

China is currently Canada’s second-largest trading partner with annual bilateral trade worth more than $67 billion.

Premier Li stressed the important roles of both China and Canada in the Asia-Pacific region and the world trade. He said sending a positive signal on promoting the liberalization of trade and investment is in the common interests of both sides. As the door to China continues to open up to the outside world, the business environment will be getting better and China will continue to be a hot spot for international investment.

Trudeau said that the relations of the two countries have witnessed sound development and there remains great potential for exchanges and cooperation between the two countries. He said Canada is willing to extend the friendship between the two countries in the spirit of mutual benefit and reciprocity, and is ready to work with China to push for globalization and free trade and contribute to the sustainable development of the world.