Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau during the Chinese New Year celebrations in Toronto. (Photo : Twitter)
Political analysts said that Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's upcoming visit to China will be a tricky one, as he will have to contend with several sensitive issues while trying to establish a greater relationship with the country.
Trudeau, who will be in China for a five-day state visit on Aug. 30, will have to tread carefully if he wants to start negotiating a free trade agreement with China, Conservative Party member Tony Clement said.
According to Clement, Canada will need to first see to it that whatever deal might be proposed will be within the judicial principles the country stand by before pushing further with negotiations, the National Post reported.
However, other members of the party, as well as those from the Liberal Party, expressed their support for pushing more trade ties with China. One senior Conservative Party member suggested that there should even be back doors to9 help speed up free trade talks.
Meanwhile, former ambassador to Tokyo Derek Burney stressed that isolated incidents should not hamper the progress of free trade discussions with China. Burney was referring to an incident in June where Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi angrily rebuked a Canadian journalist after the latter asked him about China's actions in the South China Sea.
The event triggered furor in the Canadian media, with the opposition accusing Trudeau's government of backing down easily in the face of Chinese bullying, which the Prime Minister countered.
Trudeau is also faced with the task o9f resolving several economic issues with China, including the possible annual $2 billion worth of losses on exports due to tighter Chinese restrictions, The Globe and Mail reported.
China is also reportedly pressuring Canada to withdraw support for the international tribunal ruling that the former's claims of and actions in the South China Sea are in violation of the Unit6ed Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
Trudeau has earlier said that he will build "a closer and more balanced relationship" with China.
