China-Canada report released at conference

The Blue Book of Canada was released at a conference held in Kunming, capital of Southwest China's Yunnan Province on Friday, urging the two countries to seek breakthroughs on free trade and extradition issues.

With the theme "Sino-Canadian strategic cooperation the Belt and Road initiative," the 17th Biannual Conference of the Association for Canadian Studies in China produced the book entitled An Annual Report on the Development of Canada (2017).

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau sent a congratulatory letter to the conference.

The report, published by the Center for Canadian Studies at Guangdong University of Foreign Studies, Association for Canadian Studies in China and Social Sciences Academic Press (China), noted new heights in Sino-Canadian relations marked by meetings between Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and Trudeau in 2016.

In August 2016 during his visit to Beijing, Trudeau said he was "ready to keep and strengthen the strong friendship" between Canada and China, the Xinhua News Agency reported on Friday.

Canada has meanwhile applied to join the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and started exploratory negotiations on freer trade with China.

In response, China has urged Canada to open up channels to outside investment and be prepared to sign an extradition agreement.

Canada's attitude toward China has evolved with worsening US-Canada ties under US President Donald Trump, the report's authors believed.

"The shared interests between China and Canada requires us to deepen the relationship, which calls for the leaders from the two countries to find a firmer basis to strengthen the trust," it read.

The report also suggested methods by which Canada might play a leading role in global governance and improve its relations with the United Nations.