First visit to Beijing by a Canadian PM in almost a decade follows deep chill in relations between the two nations

Chinese President Xi Jinping welcomed Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and his delegation, saying that China-Canada relations were at a turning point after their last meeting at an APAC summit in October.

Canada’s prime minister took an important step toward reinvigorating his nation’s ties with China and diversifying its trade away from the U.S., as Beijing increasingly seeks to woo U.S. allies

Diversifying trade relationships while sustaining those with America will be a tricky balance for Canada’s prime minister

Canada was one of the first Western countries to recognize communist China, establishing ties in 1970 under Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau.

Canada and China are forging ahead with a new strategic partnership and both sides stand to make "historic" gains as they leverage each other's strengths, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney told Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Friday.

This isn’t the first time Carney has signaled a profound shift. Back in March, he warned that “the old relationship we had with the United States, based on deepening integration of our economies and tight security and military cooperation, is over,” and that Canada must “fundamentally reimagine” its economy for a “drastically different world (2).”

Prime Minister Mark Carney witnessed the signing of an agreement to co-operate more with China on clean and conventional energy the first day of talks in Beijing on Thursday, after years of difficult relations between the two countries.