Prime Minister Stephen Harper must reach out to China directly and try to repair the damage he and his government have done to this important diplomatic and economic relationship, Canada's official opposition the Liberal Party said Monday.

"In light of the United States stepping up its engagement with Beijing and the Prime Minister's own former Foreign Affairs Minister acknowledging the deep divisions within the Conservative Party regarding China, Mr. Harper must change course," said Bob Rae, Foreign Affairs Critic of the party, in a press release.

"Mr. Harper must shift his amateurish approach to Canada-China relations to one of nuance and professionalism."

Last week, Harper's former Foreign Affairs Minister David Emerson publicly called for Canada to "be more deeply engaged with China" and confirmed there are deep divisions within the Conservative government regarding how to deal with Beijing, according to the release.

Canada is not only losing ground to the United States, but is far behind countries like Thailand, the Philippines, Germany and Australia when it comes to its share of the Chinese import market, it said.

Liberal International Trade Critic Scott Brison also talked about the developments of Canada-China trade in recent years.

"During the first two years of Conservative government (2006 and 2007) Canada's exports to China stagnated, barely keeping pace in proportion to China's import growth," he said in the release.

"In comparison, the United States increased its trade with China by 60 percent over those same years, far outpacing the growth of Chinese global imports and increasing their share of the Chinese market," he said.

"Relations with Beijing are impacted greatly by the personal relationships between our countries. A new Liberal government will ensure that relations at the top are repaired. Successful trade initiatives such as the former Liberal government's Team Canada Missions will be used to leverage those relationships into concrete economic activity," he said.

(Xinhua News Agency February 24, 2009)