China-Canada ties
(fmprc.gov.cn)
Updated: 2005-09-07 10:44

1.Review of the bilateral political relations

Since the establishment of diplomatic relations betweenChinaandCanadaonOctober 13, 1970, the relations between the two countries have made considerable development.Chinese presidents, premiers, chairmen of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress and chairmen of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference have visitedCanadasuccessively.Canadian Governors General, prime ministers, speakers of the Senate and the House of Commons have also visitedChina.

Political contacts between the two sides in the seventies and the eighties:

In October 1973, Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau visitedChina. This was the first visit toChinaby a Canadian prime minister since the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries.Premier Zhou Enlai held talks with Trudeau and Chairman Mao met with him.The two sides concluded the Trade Agreement betweenChinaandCanada.

In June 1978, Ji Pengfei, Vice Chairman of the NPC Standing Committee, led an NPC delegation to visitCanada.

In September 1979, a Canadian parliamentary delegation led Lapoint, Speaker of the Senate, and Jerome, Speaker of the House of Commons, visitedChina.

In August 1980, Bo Yibo, Vice Premier of the State Council of China, visitedCanada.He met with Prime Minister Trudeau and held talks with the Canadian side focusing on economic and trade relations.

In October 1983, Wu Xueqian, Chinese State Councillor and Foreign Minister, visited Canada and signed with the Canadian side the Agreement on Developing Cooperation between China and Canada.

In November 1983, Pierre Trudeau, Canadian Prime Minister, came toChinaon a working visit and held talks with the Chinese leaders on the international situation.

In January 1984, Zhao Ziyang, Premier of the State Council of China, paid an official visit toCanada.This was the first visit toCanadaby a Chinese premier since the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries.He held talks with Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau.The two sides exchanges views on such questions as bilateral trade and loans, and signed the Agreement on the Protection of Investment betweenChinaandCanada.

In April 1984, a Canadian parliamentary delegation led byRiel, Speaker of the Senate, andFrancis, Speaker of the House of Commons, visitedChina.

In July 1985, Li Xiannian, Chinese President, paid a state visit toCanada.This was the first visit toCanadaby a Chinese president since the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries.President Li held talks with Madam Jeanne Sauve, Canadian Governor-General, and Martin Brian Mulroney, Canadian Prime Minister.

In May 1986, Martin Brian Mulroney, Canadian Prime Minister, visitedChina.Premier Zhao Ziyang held talks with him.The two sides signed the Agreement on Prevention of Double Taxation and Tax Evasions betweenChinaandCanada.

In May 1986, Yao Yilin, Vice Premier of the State Council of China, paid an informal visit toCanada.

In March 1987, Jeanne Sauve, Canadian Governor-General, visitedChina.Chinese President Li Xiannian and Premier Zhao Ziyang met with her respectively.

In April 1987, a Canadian parliamentary delegation led by Charbonneau, Speaker of the Senate, and Fraser, Speaker of the House of Commons, visitedChina.Li Xiannian, Chinese President, and Peng Zhen, Chairman of the NPC Standing Committee, met with the delegation respectively.

In May 1987, Yang Shangkun, Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission, led a Chinese government delegation to visitCanadaand held talks with Canadian Prime Minister Martin Mulroney and External Minister Joseph Clark.

In May 1988, Tian Jiyun, Vice Premier of the State Council of China, visited Canada and held talks with Canadian Governor-General Madam Jeanne Sauve, Prime Minister Martin Mulroney and Deputy Prime Minister Mazankowski and speakers of the Senate and the House of Commons.

In May 1989, an NPC delegation led by Wan Li, Chairman of the NPC Standing Committee, led an NPC delegation to visitCanada.This was the first visit toCanadaby a chairman of the NPC Standing Committee.During the visit, Chairman Wan Li held talks with Canadian Governor-General Jeanne Sauve, Prime Minister Martin Mulroney, Speaker of the Senate Charbonneau and Speaker of the House of Commons Fraser.

Major mutual visits since the nineties include:

In May 1993, Chinese Vice Premier Zhu Rongji visitedCanadaon invitation.

In April 1994, Canadian Governor-General Hnatyshyn visitedChina.In the same month, Chinese Vice Premier Zou Jiahua visitedCanadaon invitation.And in November, Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien visitedChina.

In October 1995, on the occasion of the 25thanniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations betweenChinaandCanada, Chinese Premier Li Peng visitedCanada.

In April 1996, Qiao Shi, Chairman of the NPC Standing Committee, visitedCanada.In September, Qian Qichen, Chinese Vice Premier and Foreign Minister, visitedCanada.In October, Gildas Molgat, Speaker of the Senate of Canada, visitedChina.In November Jean Chretien, Prime Minister of Canada, paid a working visit to China and met with Chinese Premier Li Peng.

In April 1997, Lloyd Axworthy, Minister of External Affairs of Canada, visitedChina, and in July he attended on invitation the ceremony for the transfer of government inHong Kong.In November, at the invitation of Romeo LeBlanc, Governor-General of Canada, Chinese President Jiang Zemin paid a state visit toCanadaafter attending the Informal APEC Leadership Meeting held inVancouver.This was the first visit of a Chinese president toCanadasince 1985.During the visit, President Jiang met separately with Canadian Governor-General Romeo LeBlanc, Prime Minister Jean Chretien and speakers of the Senate and the House of Commons, held deep-going discussions on the further development of the relations betweenChinaandCanadaand the international and regional questions of common concern and reached extensive consensus.The two sides unanimously agreed to establish a partnership of all-round cooperation orientated towards the 21stcentury.Except for the capital cityOttawa, President Jiang also visitedCalgaryandTorontoand delivered an important speech at the dinner party hosted by the Canada-China Business Council inToronto.The visit further promoted the bilateral economic and trade cooperation.During the visit, the two countries signed the Consular Agreement between the Chinese and Canadian Governments, the Memorandum of Understanding between the Chinese National Tourism Administration and the Canadian Tourism Commission on the Cooperation on Tourism, the three memorandums of understanding on development assistance and the letters exchanged betweenChinaandCanadaon mutual establishment of more consulates-general.The visit achieved the purpose of deepening understanding, increasing friendship, orientating towards the future and developing cooperation, thus laying a solid foundation for the further development of the Sino-Canadian relations of long-term stability, co-existence in amity and all-round cooperation orientated towards the 21stcentury.

In January 1998, State Councillors Chen Junsheng and Peng Peiyun visitedCanada.In September, Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan visitedCanada.In October, Li Tieying, Member of CPC Political Bureau and President of theChineseAcademyof Social Sciences, visitedCanada.In November, Jean Chretien, Canadian Prime Minister, paid his third visit toChinasince coming into power after attending the Informal APEC Leadership Meeting.

In April 1999, at the invitation of the Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien, Premier Zhu Rongji paid an official visit toCanada.In addition to the capital cityOttawa, Premier Zhu also visited such cities asSt. Johns,Toronto,Calgary,VictoriaandVancouver.He met with Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien, speakers of the Senate and the House of Commons, Federal government ministers and provincial and city officials.The two prime ministers in their talks gave high appraisal to the development of the relations between the two countries at present, and unanimously agreed to strengthen the cooperation between the two countries in environmental protection, in justice and between parliaments and between provinces and cities and further strengthen consultation and cooperation in the UN organization.The two countries signed the plan of action on environmental cooperation between the Chinese and Canadian Governments, the memorandum of understanding between the Chinese and Canadian Governments on cooperation in the crackdown on crimes and three protocols on China's import of animal products from Canada.The visit attained the objective of deepening understanding, increasing consensus, enhancing friendship and developing cooperation, and was crowned with success.

In October, Jia Qinglin, Member of the CPC Political Bureau and Secretary of the Beijing Municipal Committee of the CPC, visitedCanada.In December, Raymond Chen, Canadian Minister of State for Asian and Pacific Affairs, attended the ceremony for the transfer of government inMacaoon behalf of the Canadian Government.

In May 2000, at the invitation of the Speaker of the Senate of Canada Gildas Molgat, Li Ruihuan, Chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, visitedCanadaand met with the Canadian Governor-General, prime minister, and the speakers of the Senate and the House of Commons.Chairman Li visitedOttawa,Toronto,VictoriaandVancouver.In June, Beverley McLachlin, Chief Grand Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada, visitedChina. In July Lloyd Axworthy, Canadian Minister of External Affairs, visitedChina.

In February 2001, Jean Chretien, Prime Minister of Canada, led "a Canadian national team" to visitChina. President Jiang Zemin and Chairman of the NPC Standing Committee Li Peng met with him respectively and Premier Zhu Rongji held talks with him.The two sides signed the Memorandum of Understanding between the State Development Planning Commission of the People's Republic of China and the Ministry of Natural Resources of Canada Concerning Cooperation in the Field of Energy, the Letter of Intent of the Government of the People's Republic of China and the Government of Canada Concerning the Development of Cooperation between China and Canada in the Fields of Environmental and Climatic Changes, Judicial Reform, large-scale Development of Western China and Accession to the World Trade Organization, and the Memorandum of Understanding on the Program for Exchanges of Chinese and Canadian Scholars.Moreover, the two sides also signed agreements, business contracts and letters of intent with a total value of approximately 5.7 billion Canadian dollars.In June, Ismail Amat, State Councillor, led a Chinese government economic and trade delegation to visit Canada and met with Daniel Hays, Speaker of the Senate of Canada, Herbert Gray, Deputy Prime Minister, and Pierre Pettigrew, Minister of International Trade.In July, Canadian Minister of Taxation Martin Callchon visitedChina.In September, Paul Martin, Minister of Finance, visitedChina.In October, Danel Philip Hays, Speaker of the Senate of Canada, led a Canadian parliamentary delegation to visitChina.In the same month, Jean Chretien, Canadian Prime Minister, arrived inShanghaito attend the Informal APEC Leadership Meeting.During the meeting, he met with President Jiang Zemin, and after the meeting he proceeded toZhejiangProvinceto visit Qinshan third-phase nuclear power plant, built with cooperation betweenChinaandCanada.

In March 2002, Tian Jiyun, Vice Chairman of the NPC Standing Committee, led a delegation to visitCanada.At the end of March, Peter Milliken, Speaker of the House of Commons of Canada, led a Canadian parliamentary delegation to visitChina.Li Peng, Chairman of the NPC Standing Committee, met with Milliken and his party.In May, Ding Guangen, Member of the CPC Political Bureau, Member of the CPC Secretariat and Minister of the CPC Publicity Department and Zhou Tienong, Vice Chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, visited Canada one after the other.In July, Tang Jiaxuan, Chinese Foreign Minister, while attending the Foreign Ministers Meeting of the ASEAN Regional Forum held inBrunei, met with William Graham, Canadian External Minister.In September, Chi Haotian, Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission, State Councillor and Minister of Defence, visitedCanada.Peng Peiyun, Vice Chairwoman of the NPC Standing Committee, proceeded toCanadato attend the International Conference of Parliamentary Members on the Question of Population and Development (2002).Moreover, Allan Rock, Canadian Minister of Industry, Denis Coderre, Minister of Immigration, David Kilgour, Minister of State for Asian and Pacific Affairs, John Mccallum, Minister of State for Affairs of Financial Institutions, and Giulizno Zaccardelli, Inspector General of the Royal Mounted Police, visitedChinarespectively.

In early 2003, Xiao Yang, President of the Supreme People's Court of China, visitedCanada.In February, Ye Xiaowen, Director of the State Bureau of Religious Affairs, visitedCanada.At the end of May, President Hu Jintao, while attending the ceremony in celebration of the 300thanniversary of the founding of theSaint Petersburgcity, met with Jean Chretien, Canadian Prime Minister.

2.Bilateral economic and trade relations and economic and technological cooperation

The non-governmental trade activities betweenChinaandCanadastarted in 1950s and the formal trade relations began with the conclusion of the wheat agreement betweenChinaandCanadain 1961.Since the establishment of the diplomatic relations between the countries in 1970 and the conclusion of the inter-governmental trade agreement in 1973, the economic and trade relations between the two countries have developed smoothly and the friendly cooperation has maintained good momentum of development.In recent years, the economic and trade relations betweenChinaandCanadahave attained substantial development.They have developed from a single commodity trade into all-round, inter-sphere and multivariate cooperation in trade, economy and technology.With the daily frequent flow of commodities, services, personnel and capital, the economic ties between the countries have been strengthened continuously.The bilateral agreement onChina's accession to the WTO reached betweenChinaandCanadain November 1999 marked that the economic and trade relations between the two countries opened a new chapter.

According to statistics of the Chinese Customs, in 2002, the total trade volume betweenChinaandCanadawas US$7.932 billion, a year-on-year increase of 7.6%, breaking a record in history.Of that,China's export was US$4.305 billion, a year-on-year growth of 28.7%, while its import US$3.627 billion, a year-on-year drop of 10%.In January-May 2003, the total volume of bilateral trade was US$3.79 billion, a year-on-year increase of 27.2%.Of that,China's export was US$2.03 billion while its import US$1.76 billion, a year-on-year growth of 31.5% and 22.6% respectively.At present,Chinais the fourth largest trade partner forCanadaandCanadais the tenth largest trade partner forChina(the EU and the ASEAN are treated as a whole).The staple commoditiesChinaimports fromCanadaare pulp, potash, mechanical and electrical products and wheat, and the bulk commoditiesChinaexports toCanadaare mechanical and electrical products, garments, new and high-tech products and textiles.The mix of export commodities has improved step by step.

Canadabegan its direct investment inChinain 1980.In 2002, new Canadian investment projects inChinanumbered 708, with the contractual investment of US$1.148 billion and actual investment US$588 million.Up to the end of April 2003,Canada's investment projects inChinareached 6,253, with contractual investment totalling US$10.808 billion and actual investment valued at US$3.392 billion.The lines in whichCanadahas made investment are mainly petroleum development, mechanical industry, electron industry, communication, chemical industry, light industry, food, textile, agriculture, aquaculture, real estate, financial and insurance industry, service industry, etc.Of them, the productive projects account for approximately 80%.Enterprises with Canadian investment are distributed in more than 20 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government, includingGuangdong,Shanghai,Jiangsu,FujianandShandong.

In 2002,Chinaapproved four new enterprises to invest inCanada, with the total investment agreed by the two sides amounting to US$2.08 million and the total volume of investment agreed by the government was US$1.23 million.From 1983 to the end of 2002, a total of 144 trade or non-trade enterprises were established inCanadawith Chinese investment that had been approved or put on the record by the government.The total volume of investment agreed by the two sides amounted to US$757 million, and the total investment volume agreed by the Chinese government was US$436million. The lines of trade involved were mainly resources development, industrial production, undertaking contracted projects, agriculture, animal husbandry and fishery, catering trade, scientific, technological and cultural exchanges, communications and transport, consultancy, etc.

The development of cooperation between the Chinese and Canadian Governments started in 1982.In 1983, the two Governments signed the General Agreement betweenChinaandCanadaon Developing Cooperation.The cooperation between the sides covered such areas as agriculture and forestry, energy, communications, education, communication, environmental protection, tapping human resources, structural reform and aiding the poor.The total number of the projects reached 91, with the amount the Canadian side agreed to put in reaching close to US$410 million.

3.Bilateral contacts and cooperation in the scientific and technological, cultural, educational, health, and military fields

(1) Scientific and technological cooperation:The scientific and technological cooperation between the Chinese and Canadian Governments started in 1972.Up to the present, government departments of the two countries have signed a total of 25 agreements or memorandums of understanding for scientific and technological cooperation or economic and technical cooperation. The main fields of cooperation in recent years include:

A. Energy:In 1994, the two Governments signed the agreement on the peaceful uses of nuclear energy inBeijing.In 1995, the two sides signed a memorandum of understanding on the cooperation in building CANDU nuclear power station in Qinshan.In 1997, the credit agreement for the Qinshan nuclear power station was signed, starting to put into practice the largest project of cooperation so far betweenChinaandCanada.OnDecember 31, 2002, generating unit No. One of the third-phase Qinshan nuclear power station successfully realized a continuous operation for 100 hours at full power and formally began commercial operation 43 days ahead of schedule.And In June 2003, generating unit No. Two was merged into the power grid and began to generate electricity.

In 1997, the Ministry of Water Conservancy of China and the Ministry of Natural Resources of Canada signed a memorandum of understanding on cooperation.In 2001, the State Development Planning Commission of China and the Ministry of Natural Resources of Canada signed the Memorandum of Understanding on the Cooperation in the Energy Field.

B. Agriculture:In 1998, the two Governments signed the Memorandum of Understanding between China and Canada Concerning the Project on Nutritional Management and Strategy of the Sustainable Development of Agriculture in China and the Memorandum of Understanding between the State Bureau of Forestry of the People's Republic of China and the Ministry of Natural Resources of Canada on the Cooperation in Forestry.In 1999, the two sides signed the Protocol onChina's Import of Animal Products fromCanada.In 2002, the Ninth Meeting of the China-Canada Mixed Committee on Agriculture was held inOttawa.

C. Environmental protection:In 1998 and 1999 respectively, the two Governments signed the Sino-Canadian Statement on the Framework of Environmental Cooperation Oriented towards the 21stCentury and the Sino-Canadian Plan of Action concerning Environmental Cooperation.In 2001, the two sides signed the Letter of Intent between the Government of the People's Republic ofChinaand the Government of Canada on Developing Sino-Canadian Cooperative Projects in the Fields of Environmental and Climatic Changes, Judicial Reform, Large-scale Development of Western China and Accession to the World Trade Organization.

Furthermore, the two countries have carried out fruitful cooperation in the fields of aerospace, remote sensing, communication, meteorological phenomenon, ocean, fishery, forestry and basic science.Multi-level and multi-channel exchanges and cooperation have also been carried out between institutions of higher learning and scientific research institutions.

(2) Cultural exchanges:Since the establishment of diplomatic relations, the governmental and non-governmental cultural exchanges between the two countries have been strengthened continuously.In the eighties, the projects of governmental and non-governmental exchanges and cooperation between the two countries have increased gradually and the scope has covered the fields of culture and art, film and television, books and publication, social science and sports.The exchanges of performing art troupes and exhibitions of cultural relics, fine arts and works of art have become increasingly frequent.

After entering on the nineties, the cultural exchanges between the two countries have grown day by day.In 1992, Canadian cultural officials visitedChinaand reached an agreement in principle with the Cultural Ministry of China on the programs of cultural exchanges between the two Governments in 92/93 year.In 1994, the memorandum on the cultural exchanges betweenChinaandCanadain 95/96 year was signed.In 1998, a new memorandum of understanding on the cultural exchanges and cooperation between the two governments was signed.In 1998, the two sides signed the Agreement between the State Bureau for the Preservation of Cultural and Historical Relics of the People's Republic ofChinaand the Canadian Foundation for Protection of Chinese Cultural Relics Concerning the Protection of Cultural Heritages.

In recent years, the cultural exchanges between the two countries have presented a situation in which governmental and non-governmental exchanges have developed simultaneously with non-governmental exchanges playing the major role, have taken diversified forms at multiple levels and in multiple channels and have been carried out regularly.In 2001,Chinaheld "the Beijing Cultural Week" and "the Xi'an Cultural Season" inCanada.In 2002,Chinaheld "theChina's Tibet Cultural Week" inCanada.

(3) Educational and health exchanges and cooperation:Since the establishment of diplomatic relations,ChinaandCanadahave achieved all-round and rapid development in educational exchanges.Relations of multi-form exchanges and cooperation have been established between cultural departments of the two countries, especially between institutions of higher learning.The academic exchanges between the two sides have covered extensive spheres and at high levels involving numerous people.Through exchanges of academic groups, teachers, students and information and materials, the two countries have conducted cooperative researches, jointly cultivated doctorate students, jointly held academic seminars and training courses, which have increased the mutual understanding between the educational departments and academic circles of the two countries and have helped raise the academic, scientific research and management levels.

In 1995, the two Governments signed the memorandum of understanding on the cooperation between the health departments.The cooperation between the two sides in the field of health has developed step by step.In 1997,ChinaandCanadasigned the plan of action on cooperation in the fields of health and medical treatment from 1997 to 1999.In 2001, Peng Yu, Vice Minister of Health, visited Canada, and signed with the representative of the Canadian Ministry of Health the plan for carrying out the cooperation in health and medical science from 2001 to 2004.

(4) Military exchanges:Military attachés were exchanged between the two countries in 1973.In the eighties, Xiao Ke, Vice Minister of Defence of China, and Zhang Aiping, Minister of Defence, visited Canada one after the another. Canadian Defence Minister, and Manson, Chief of Staff for Defence, also visitedChinaone after the other.In 1995, Lt. Gen. Mason, the First Deputy Chief of Staff of the Ministry of Defence, visitedChina.In 1996, Qian Shugen, Deputy Chief of Staff of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, visitedCanada.In 1998, a Canadian formation of naval ships visitedShanghai.In February 2000, Dr Calder, Assistant Deputy Minister of Defence of Canada, visitedChina. In May, Major General, Commander of the Pacific Fleet of Canada, led the missile destroyer and the escort shipWinnipegto visitQingdao.In September, a Chinese formation of naval ships consisted of missile destroyerQingdaoand store ship Taicang paid the first visit toCanada.In May 2001, Admiral General Baril, Chief of Staff for National Defence, visitedChina.In September 2002, Chi Haotian, Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission, State Councillor and Minister of National Defence, visitedCanada.

4.Principal agreements signed between the two countries

(1) The Joint Communiquéon the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations between the Government of the People's Republic of China and the Government of Canada, issued onOctober 13, 1970.

(2) The Agreement between the Government of the People's Republic ofChinaand the Government of Canada on the Civil Air Transport, signed onJune 11, 1973.

(3) The Trade Agreement between the Government of the People's Republic ofChinaand the Government of Canada, signed onOctober 13, 1973.

(4) The Protocol on Economic Cooperation between the Government of the People's Republic ofChinaand the Government of Canada, signed onOctober 19, 1979.

(5) The General Agreement on Developing Cooperation between the Government of the People's Republic ofChinaand the Government of Canada, signed onOctober 5, 1983.

(6) The Agreement between the Government of the People's Republic ofChinaand the Government of Canada on Protection of Investment, signed onJanuary 18, 1984.

(7) The Agreement between the Government of the People's Republic ofChinaand the Government of Canada on Prevention of Double Taxation and Tax Evasions, signed onMay 12, 1986.

(8) The Memorandum of Understanding on Cultural Exchanges between the Government of the People's Republic ofChinaand the Government of Canada, signed onNovember 4, 1988.

(9) The Treaty between the People's Republic ofChinaandCanadaon Judicial Assistance in Criminal Cases, signed onJuly 29, 1994.

(10) The Agreement between the Government of the People's Republic ofChinaand the Government of Canada on the Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy, signed onNovember 7, 1994.

(11) The Letters Exchanged between the Government of the People's Republic ofChinaand the Government of Canada on Retaining the Consulate-General byCanadain the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, signed onSeptember 19, 1996.

(12) The Agreement on Marine Transport between the Government of the People's Republic ofChinaand the Government of Canada, signed onApril 4, 1997.

(13) The Consular Agreement between the Government of the People's Republic ofChinaand the Government of Canada, signed onNovember 28, 1997.

(14) The Framework Statement on Environmental Cooperation Geared to the 21stCentury between the Government of the People's Republic ofChinaand the Government of Canada, signed onNovember 19, 1998.

(15) The Plan of Action on Environmental Cooperation between the Governm4ent of the People's Republic ofChinaand the Government of Canada, signed onApril 16, 1999.

(16) The Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation in Cracking down on Crimes between the Government of People's Republic of China and the Government of Canada, signed onApril 16, 1999.

(17) The Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation in the Field of Energy between the State Development Planning Commission of the People's Republic ofChinaand the Department of Natural Resources of Canada, signed onFebruary 11, 2001.

(18) The Letter of Intent on Sino-Canadian Programs for Developing Cooperation in the Fields of Environmental and Climatic Changes, Judicial Reform, Large-scale Development of Western China and Accession to the World Trade Organization between the Government of the People's Republic ofChinaand the Government of Canada, signed onFebruary 11, 2001.

(19) The Memorandum of Understanding on the Program of Exchanges of scholars betweenChinaandCanada, signed onFebruary 11, 2001.

Attachment:The Joint Communiquéon the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations between the Government of the People's Republic of China and the Government of Canada

In accordance with the principles of mutual respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, non-interference in each other's internal affairs and equality and mutual benefit, the Government of the People's Republic ofChinaand the Government of Canada have decided to recognize each other and establish diplomatic relations as ofOctober 13, 1970.

The Chinese Government reiterates thatTaiwanis an inalienable part of the territory of the People's Republic ofChina.The Canadian Government takes note of this position of the Chinese Government.

The Canadian Government recognizes the Government of the People's Republic ofChinaas the sole legal government ofChina.

The Chinese and Canadian Governments have agreed to exchange ambassadors within six months and will provide all necessary assistance for the establishment of embassies in each other's capital and the discharging of their duties on the basis of equality and mutual benefit and in accordance with international practice.

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