President Hu Jintao
said in Ottawa Thursday that China will work with Canada to seize
the opportunity to expand bilateral cooperation creating a better
future for bilateral ties.
Hu, who arrived in the Canadian capital on Thursday morning on a
state visit as the guest of Canadian Governor-General Adrienne
Clarkson, made the remarks at a reception ceremony.
Hu reviewed the rapid growth of exchanges and cooperation in the
past 35 years of bilateral diplomatic ties in politics, economy,
trade, energy, science, technology, education and culture, as well
as fruitful bilateral cooperation on major international and
regional issues.
He said the economies of the two countries are highly
complementary and hold vast potential for reciprocal
cooperation.
To further bilateral relations also serves the requirements of
the times and the aspiration of the two peoples, as the two
countries are influential and shoulder major responsibilities for
safeguarding world peace and promoting common development, Hu
said.
Clarkson also highlighted the flourishing bilateral relationship
at the ceremony.
In their meeting after the ceremony, Hu and Clarkson reviewed
the friendship and cooperation between their countries in recent
years.
Hu told Clarkson that China attaches great importance to the
friendly cooperation with Canada, and his current visit is aimed at
enhancing mutual trust and promoting cooperation so as to push
bilateral partnership of all-round cooperation to a new level.
Chinese statistics show that
China-Canada trade volume last year reached US$15.5 billion, a
55 percent increase over the previous year. In the first half of
2005, trade was valued at US$9 billion.
This is the first visit to Canada by a Chinese head of state in
eight years.
Hu is also scheduled to pay a state visit to Mexico. He will
then attend the UN summit in New York to be held from September 14
to 16.
(Xinhua News Agency September 9, 2005)