Residents in Toronto City, Canada, shared their impression of China ahead of Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney's official visit to China, expressing willingness to enhance cooperation with the strong economic power.
Carney is set to arrive in China on Wednesday to begin a four-day visit at the invitation of Chinese Premier Li Qiang, marking the first trip by a Canadian prime minister to China since 2017.
When interviewed on the streets by China Global Television Network (CGTN), residents were asked to describe their impression of China with a keyword. Many mentioned "economy" and "cooperation" as keywords they would first associate with China.
"I would say probably cooperation, because I think China is probably the partner that you want to have as a country," said Raman, the provincial liaison manager at the Canadian Federation of Independent Business.
"I'd definitely say economy. They're a really big economic power right now. They're definitely someone we want to be trading with, and that's really what comes to mind for me when I think about China," said Jen, a local nurse.
"The first thing that comes to mind is economy as well, because it is one of the big traders in the world," said John, a software developer.
Speaking about the cooperation between China and Canada, many mentioned mining and agriculture, and expressed their hope that the bilateral cooperation can be deepened.
"I know there's a couple of (areas of) investment from China into Canada, like in the oil sands in Alberta, and also in the mining industry as well," said Xiong Lulu, an equity research analyst.
"I know that the canola oil is very important for us. I know that there are counter-tariffs right now that really hits the farmers of Canada. So I think it would be a good opportunity for Mark Carney to go there and then to arrange stuff with the government of China just to settle this, and have a nice cooperation on Canada oil," said Raman.
Toronto residents hope to strengthen cooperation, economic partnership with China
