Chinese, Canadian FMs vow to bring bilateral relations "back on track"

BALI, Indonesia, July 9 (Xinhua) -- Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi met here with Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly and both pledged to push China-Canada relations back on track.

During a meeting with Joly on Friday on the sidelines of the Group of 20 (G20) foreign ministers' meeting, Wang said China and Canada have never been rivals but partners. China has never been a threat but an opportunity. A sound and stable China-Canada relationship is the common aspiration of the two peoples and serves the common interests of both sides.

China hopes that Canada will respect facts and be cautious in words and deeds on China-related issues, and work with China to meet each other halfway to build mutual trust so as to bring China-Canada relations back on track, said the Chinese top diplomat.

Both China and Canada advocate multilateralism, support the democratization of international relations and safeguard the trend of globalization, said Wang.

Both sides may jointly promote the success of the second phase of the 15th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations (UN) Convention on Biological Diversity, strengthen anti-epidemic cooperation and build a global community of health for all, he noted.

For her part, Joly said Canada attaches great importance to its relations with China and is ready to work with China to strengthen communication and jointly address common concerns in a pragmatic manner so as to bring the bilateral relations back on track.

Both countries have benefited from closer economic and trade ties and have maintained close coordination and cooperation in multilateral affairs such as climate change and biodiversity.