Chinese, Canadian foreign ministers pledge to improve bilateral ties

China

Chinese, Canadian foreign ministers pledge to improve bilateral ties

2025-10-17 21:56 Last Updated At：10-18 01:27

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi held talks with his Canadian counterpart, Anita Anand, in Beijing on Friday, with both sides pledging to improve bilateral ties.

Wang, who is also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, said that this year marks the 55th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Canada. The course of the development of China-Canada relations shows that the two countries can become partners that achieve mutual success and common development on the basis of mutual respect, he added.

Wang noted that China is willing to work with Canada to take the 55th anniversary of their diplomatic ties and the 20th anniversary of their establishment of a strategic partnership as opportunities to resume dialogue and exchange at all levels, guided by the important consensus reached between the leaders of the two countries.

He called on the two sides to advance the resolution of each other's legitimate concerns, explore and tap into cooperation in various fields, expand people-to-people and cultural exchange, and strengthen communication and collaboration on multilateral affairs. He also said that they should work together to uphold multilateralism, safeguard the international economic and trade order, and steer China-Canada relations onto a track of healthy, stable, sustainable development at an early date.

Anand said that the momentum to improve bilateral relations between the two countries is currently favorable, and that positive progress has been achieved. Canada adheres to the one-China policy, and is willing to strengthen its high-level exchange with China and deepen mutual trust. It is also ready to make good use of dialogue and consultation mechanisms in areas such as diplomacy, the economy and trade, and to promote cooperation in fields including trade, agriculture, tourism, energy, and people-to-people and cultural exchange, she noted.

Canada firmly supports multilateralism and free trade, Anand said.

Protesters gather in Berlin against U.S. intervention in Venezuela

More than 1,000 people gathered in Berlin over the weekend to protest against U.S. threats of military intervention in Venezuela and voice support for the Venezuelan government.

The demonstrations, held on Saturday and Sunday in the German capital, drew participants who condemned the U.S. sanctions on Venezuela and the naval deployments in the Caribbean.

Protesters said that the United States, under the pretext of counter-narcotics, deployed several warships in the Caribbean near Venezuela, and such a military threat was aimed at interfering in Venezuela's internal affairs.

"The military threat brings a great danger. The United States and Western countries, including Europe, are targeting at Latin American countries that refuse to yield to U.S. pressure and stick to pursue independent policies. They are trying to interfere in Latin American politics and install governments that are obedient to them," said Diedrich Franck, organizer of the protest.

Some protesters said the United States' open threat of ground operations to topple the Maduro government was aimed at seizing Venezuela's oil resources.

"The United States has long been treating Latin America as its backyard to exploit its raw materials and also the Latin American people. Venezuela is the country with the largest oil reserves in the world. There are very obvious interests for the United States to seize its resources and at the same time control the entire Latin American continent. Therefore any leftist, anti-imperialist government in Latin America is seen as a problem by the United States," said Max, a German scholar of modern history.

Washington has deployed around a dozen warships and 15,000 troops to the Caribbean Sea, which shares a significant amount of coastline with Venezuela. U.S. forces have carried out at least 21 known strikes since Sept. 2 on boats suspected of carrying drugs in the Caribbean and East Pacific, killing at least 83 people.