Chinese president meets Canadian premier

Dec 3, 2009, 10:20 GMT

   Beijing - Chinese President Hu Jintao met Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper on Thursday, as the two sides played down a recent spat over Canada's anti-dumping duty on Chinese steel imports.

   'We hope to increase understanding, extend practical cooperation, and bring Chinese-Canadian cooperation to a new level,' Hu said as he welcomed Harper at Beijing's Great Hall of the People.

   Harper said the two nations had a 'good, frank relationship' and he expected his visit to help expand trade and cooperation.

   Harper's five-day trip 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.

   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.

   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, who is accused by China of promoting Tibetan independence.

   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.

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