Canadian premier arrives in China amid steel spat

Dec 2, 2009, 10:32 GMT

   Beijing - Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper arrived in China on Wednesday, one week after his government imposed an anti-dumping duty on Chinese steel imports.

   Harper's five-day visit is his first trip to China since he took office in 2006.

   On Tuesday, China's Foreign Ministry criticised Canada's imposition of a preliminary duty of up to 182 per cent on Chinese steel imports, and Chinese experts said the move could harm ties.

   Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said China 'attaches great importance' to Harper's visit and expected Chinese and Canadian leaders to discuss closer economic cooperation, plus 'international and regional issues of common interest.'

   'We hope and believe that with the joint efforts of the two sides, this visit will yield positive results and move China-Canada relations forward,' Qin said.

   He said China hoped to address economic problems and trade friction with Canada 'through friendly consultations, instead of resorting to trade protectionist measures such as tariff barriers at will.'

   'Such restrictive measures are neither good for the growth of bilateral economic relations nor in the interest of Canada,' Qin said when asked about the steel tariff.

   The official China Daily newspaper quoted Zhu Feng, an international relations expert at Beijing University, as saying Harper's visit came at a 'bad time' with the new steel duty 'casting a shadow' over the talks.

   'The duty will be temporarily good for the Canadian economy but it will definitely impact the warming relations,' Zhu told the newspaper.

   Diplomatic ties cooled in October 2007, when Harper became the first Canadian prime minister to hold a formal meeting with the Dalai Lama, the exiled Tibetan Buddhist leader.

   His meeting with the Dalai Lama, who is accused by China of promoting Tibetan independence, drew protests from China that it was 'blatant interference in China's internal affairs.'

   Canada also voiced strong criticism of China's human rights record in the run-up to last year's Olympic Games in Beijing, and Harper was one of the few Western leaders not to attend the event.

   But China Daily said some Chinese experts expected Canada to try to improve relations this week, after the Canadian government was 'driven by criticism from Canadian business people seeking opportunities in China' amid the downturn in the US economy.

   The global financial turmoil and US President Barack Obama's relatively upbeat visit to China last month appeared to have prompted Canada to have 'second thoughts about its attitude toward China,' Pang Zhongying, an international relations specialist at People's University in Beijing, told the newspaper.

   Qin said China's bilateral trade with Canada reached a record 34.5 billion dollars last year.