Canadian and Chinese business leaders and officials hailed the coming of a new era for relationships in Toronto on November 25 at the opening of the 21st annual meeting of the Canada China Business Council (CCBC).

Senator Jack Austin of the CCBC said in his opening speech that he sees "a whole new era for relationships" between the two countries with the upcoming accession of China to the World Trade Organization (WTO).

Yu Xiaosong, chairman of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT), told the annual meeting that China needs Canada's expertise and experience in developing its own infrastructure.

Canada enjoys a leading position in the fields of agriculture, transportation, telecommunications, urban construction, environmental protection and high-tech industry, which are also taken as priorities by China in its future economic development, according to the CCPIT chairman.

He praised the CCBC's unique role in promoting economic ties and trade between the two countries, saying without the CCBC there would have been no steady Sino-Canadian development in trade and economic cooperation.

Chinese Ambassador to Ottawa Mei Ping urged better ties and greater development in the future.

Although China has become the fourth biggest trading partner of Canada, China's total export to Canada only accounts for 2 percent of Canada's total import, while Canada's export to China takes up less than 2 percent of China's total import, he told the meeting.

"There are no political barriers for us to do business with each other," the ambassador said, adding that both Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien and Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji are "very supportive" of the bilateral development of economic and trade relations.

Canadian officials believe that the two countries will very soon sign their historic agreement on China's entry to the WTO after a similar Sino-US deal signed in Beijing on November 15.

Hundreds of Canadian and Chinese business leaders and officials are gathering at the Metro Toronto Convention Center for the last CCBC meeting of this century.

The CCBC was set up in 1978 with the purpose of promoting trade, investment and other business operations between Canada and China, founding corporations including Canada's high-tech giant Northern Telecom Limited and China International Trust & Investment Corporation. (Xinhua)