Canada's PM Justin Trudeau in China on visit focused on trade

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau began a visit to China focused on trade Monday with a stop at social media giant Sina, where he talked up the advantages of travel to his homeland.

Accompanied by four Cabinet ministers, Mr. Trudeau is due to hold talks with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang later on Tuesday before meeting President Xi Jinping the following day.

At Sina, owner of the phenomenally popular Twitter-like Weibo microblogging service, Mr. Trudeau took part in a panel discussion that touched on Canadian tourism draws, as well as the



nation’s beer and wine, according to Chinese and Canadian reports.

Next year marks the China-Canada year of tourism and Canada is hoping to double the number of Chinese tourist arrivals.

China and Canada are also in exploratory talks on a framework for a trade agreement, although reports say Ottawa has been pushing for provisions on the environment, governance, labor and gender issues.

Beijing generally seeks to avoid references that might highlight the one-party authoritarian state’s human rights record.