MUNICH: China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi told his Canadian counterpart, Anita Anand, that their two countries should work to “eliminate interference” as they met on the sidelines of a security conference on Saturday.

Wang, who met a slew of Western leaders at the Munich Security Conference, has been eager to portray Beijing as a more stable partner than the United States.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, who took office last year, visited China in January as part of his global effort to broaden Canada's export markets and reduce its reliance on the United States for trade.

Preliminary trade deal

Under a preliminary trade deal announced, Beijing is expected to reduce tariffs on Canadian canola imports.

But the United States -- Canada's traditional ally and largest trading partner -- has threatened to impose 100% tariffs on Canadian products if the deal goes ahead, saying it would allow China to "dump goods."

Beijing's top diplomat, Wang, told his Canadian counterpart, Anita Anand, on Saturday that their countries should jointly counter "interference," without naming the United States.

‘Eliminate interference’

"China is willing to work with Canada to eliminate interference, restart exchanges and cooperation in various fields," Wang told Anand, according to a readout from Beijing's foreign ministry.

China has overturned the death sentence of Canadian Robert Lloyd Schellenberg, who was detained on drug charges in 2014, a Canadian official told AFP in February.

China-Canada ties had nosedived following the 2018 arrest in Vancouver of Huawei chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou.

That arrest infuriated Beijing, which detained two Canadians -- Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig -- on espionage charges that Ottawa condemned as retaliatory.

But on Saturday, Wang hailed Carney's visit to China as “fruitful” and said the two countries should build a healthy and stable “new type of strategic partnership.”

China grants visa-free entry

China confirmed that Canadian and British citizens will be able to visit the country visa-free from Tuesday, after the two countries' leaders announced the agreements during official trips to Beijing.

British and Canadian prime ministers Keir Starmer and Mark Carney both visited Beijing in January, seeking to bolster relations with China and pivot from the increasingly mercurial United States.

Both leaders had hailed progress following meetings with top Chinese leaders, including President Xi Jinping, on issues such as visa-free access for their citizens to China.

Beijing's foreign ministry confirmed these agreements on Sunday, saying Canadian and British citizens will be able to travel to China visa-free from Tuesday, with the policy in effect until Dec. 31.

"Holders of ordinary passports from these countries can enter China without a visa for business, tourism, visiting relatives and friends, exchanges, or transit for a period not exceeding 30 days," it said in a statement.

This was to "further facilitate people-to-people exchanges between China and other countries," it added.

Anita Anand

Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand to visit Pakistan on July 20

Chinese FM wants to work with Canadian counterpart to 'eliminate interference'