Visiting Chinese President Hu Jintao met Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper on Thursday for talks on the development of China-Canada ties.

Visiting Chinese President Hu Jintao met Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper on Thursday for talks on the development of China-Canada ties.

The two leaders are also expected to exchange views on major global and regional issues of common concern, said Chinese diplomats.

According to the schedule, Hu and Harper will attend a signing ceremony of cooperation documents following their talks.

Hu flew into Ottawa on Wednesday for a state visit to Canada.

This year marks the 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Canada.

During the past 40 years, the two countries have expanded bilateral cooperation in various areas including economy, trade, energy and resources, culture, education and environmental protection.

Visiting Chinese President Hu Jintao (L) holds talks with Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper in Ottawa, Canada, June 24, 2010. [Fan Rujun/Xinhua]

At present, China is Canada's second largest trading partner while Canada is China's thirteenth. In 2009, two-way trade between the two countries reached 29.7 billion U.S. dollars.

In the first four months of this year, bilateral trade was recorded at 10.2 billion dollars, an increase of 19 percent over the previous corresponding period.

Following his state visit, Hu will attend a summit of the Group of 20 (G20) in Toronto over the weekend. The summit is aimed at securing the world economic recovery and addressing the economic challenges and risks.

Established in 1999, the G20 consists of Argentina, Australia, Britain, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, the Republic of Korea, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, the United States and the European Union.