Visiting Minister of Natural Resources Ralph Goodale said in Beijing on January 24 that he hopes Canada and China will further enhance their existing strong partnership in the natural resources industry.

The two countries have great potential to further their economic cooperation, especially in the field of natural resources, the minister said in a speech addressed to the Canada-China Business Council on January 24.

He stressed that the Canadian government as well as Canadian industry are enthusiastic about cooperating closely with China.

Goodale is currently here as head of a large delegation including government officials and representatives of over 70 Canadian natural resources companies.

"China's commitment to liberalizing trade and investment is a compelling reason behind our visit to China," he said, adding that the bilateral agreement reached concerning China's accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO) clearly shows "our very strong support to China's achieving this goal."

Goodale, who visited Beijing for the first time in 1976, said he "has the privilege to observe the dramatic progress China has achieved in the past 25 years."