BEIJING – Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Friday called on China and Canada to return to their original intention of establishing a strategic partnership and promote the normalization of bilateral relations.

Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, made the call while holding talks with Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs Mélanie Joly in the Chinese capital, Beijing.

In recent years, China-Canada relations have experienced difficulties and twists, which is not the situation China wants to see and requires serious reflection from the Canadian side, said the top Chinese diplomat.

There is no conflict of fundamental interests between China and Canada, and people in the two countries have long practiced friendly exchange, he said, adding that China-Canada relations have long been at the forefront of China's relations with Western countries.

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Wang also said China and Canada, as two major countries with important influence in the Asia-Pacific region, share extensive common interests and complementary advantages. Maintaining and developing bilateral relations well serves the fundamental interests of the two countries and two peoples.

The two sides should view each other in an objective and rational light, treat each other with mutual respect, handle differences in the spirit of seeking common ground while shelving differences, and strengthen cooperation through the principles of equality and mutual benefits, he stressed.

Noting that next year marks the 20th anniversary of the establishment of the China-Canada strategic partnership, he said the two sides should return to their original intentions, draw lessons from history, earnestly honor their commitment to establishing diplomatic ties, and inject momentum into the normalization of bilateral relations.

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China and Canada should continue to play their important roles as engines of economic and trade cooperation, and explore dialogue and cooperation in various fields, he added.

Pointing out the long history of friendship between the Canadian and Chinese peoples, Joly said Canada is willing to actively and pragmatically improve and develop relations with China, and maintain contact and dialogue.

Canada is ready to strengthen cooperation in fields such as the economy and trade, tourism, drug control, climate change, environmental protection and people-to-people exchange to achieve mutually beneficial development, he said.

She stressed that Canada will continue to abide by the one-China policy.

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The Chinese foreign minister called on the Canadian side to take concrete actions to facilitate personnel exchanges between the two countries, maintain people-to-people exchanges and improve the popular support from the two countries. 

He said that issues related to Taiwan, Xizang, Xinjiang and Hong Kong constitute China's internal affairs and brook no external interference.