China and Canada released a joint statement on Friday following high-level meetings held during Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s official visit to China from January 14 to 17, undertaken at the invitation of Chinese Premier Li Qiang.

During the visit, President Xi Jinping met with Carney, while Premier Li held formal talks with the Canadian prime minister. Zhao Leji, chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, also met with Carney. The discussions were described as in-depth, pragmatic and constructive, covering the state of bilateral relations as well as regional and global issues of shared interest.

Both sides reaffirmed the principles and policy foundations guiding China-Canada relations. Canada reiterated its long-standing adherence to the one-China policy. The two governments confirmed their intention to further develop the China-Canada new strategic partnership based on mutual respect, equality and mutual benefit, with the aim of delivering tangible benefits to both societies.

The leaders welcomed recent progress in bilateral dialogue and committed to expanding exchanges at all levels. They agreed to pursue concrete outcomes in areas including macroeconomic coordination, trade and economic cooperation, energy, finance, public security and people-to-people contacts. Both sides also underlined their support for multilateralism, the central role of the United Nations in international affairs, and the rules-based multilateral trading system anchored in the World Trade Organization, while stressing the importance of maintaining stable and resilient global industrial and supply chains.

Carney expressed appreciation for the hospitality extended by the Chinese government and people. China, in turn, welcomed Canada’s invitation for Chinese leaders to visit Canada at a mutually agreed time. During the visit, the two sides signed cooperation documents covering fields such as crime prevention, modern wood construction, trade and economic cooperation, culture and food safety.

In a separate briefing, China’s Ministry of Commerce said that the two countries reached broad consensus on deepening economic and trade ties and agreed on specific arrangements to address outstanding trade issues. The visit marked the first trip to China by a Canadian prime minister in eight years.

According to the ministry, the China-Canada Economic and Trade Cooperation Roadmap signed during the visit represents the first high-level economic and trade cooperation document in the history of bilateral relations and a key milestone under the framework of the new strategic partnership. The roadmap upgrades the existing dialogue mechanism by establishing a ministerial-level joint economic and trade committee, replacing the previous deputy-minister-level format, and strengthening institutional capacity for managing trade relations, resolving disputes and promoting dialogue on matters such as intellectual property and trade remedies.