China's top legislator meets Canadian PM

BEIJING, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- Zhao Leji, chairman of China's National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee, met with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney in Beijing on Thursday.

Zhao said that during a meeting in October last year, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Carney reached important consensus on further improving and developing China-Canada relations, leading to advancements in bilateral ties.

Standing at a new starting point, China is willing to work with Canada to implement the important consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries, respect each other's core interests and major concerns, strengthen mutually beneficial cooperation and people-to-people exchanges, and promote the healthy, stable and sustainable development of bilateral ties, Zhao said.

The NPC of China is willing to enhance friendly exchanges with the parliament of Canada, carry out experience exchanges on legislation, supervision and other work, and provide legal safeguards for practical cooperation in various fields, Zhao noted.

For his part, Carney said that the relations between Canada and China have made considerable progress. Canada firmly adheres to the one-China policy and is willing to deepen cooperation with China in areas such as energy, agriculture, supply chain and people-to-people exchanges, enhance exchanges between the legislative bodies of the two countries, and elevate Canada-China relations to a higher level. ■