China FM meets Canadian counterpart to 'eliminate interference'

MUNICH: China's foreign minister Wang Yi told his Canadian counterpart Anita Anand their two countries should work to 'eliminate interference', as they met on the sidelines of a security conference. Wang has been eager to paint Beijing as a more stable partner compared to the increasingly unpredictable 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 decrease trade reliance on the United States.
Under a preliminary trade deal announced, Beijing is expected to reduce tariffs on Canadian canola imports and grant Canadians visa-free travel to China. But the United States has threatened to impose 100 per cent tariffs on Canadian products if the deal were to go 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. '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. — AFP