Li, Trudeau inaugurate 'new annual dialogue'

Premier Li Keqiang and his wife, Cheng Hong, talk with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his wife, Sophie Gregoire Trudeau, at Trudeau’s official residence in Ottawa, Canada, on Wednesday. ZHANG DUO / XINHUA

Premier Li Keqiang and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau met for what Li called an inaugural annual dialogue on Thursday morning in Ottawa, just three weeks after Trudeau visited China.

Li was welcomed by Trudeau with military honors on Thursday at the Drill Hall at Cartier Square, a military training facility in Ottawa, the capital of Canada.

He then went to Parliament Hill, where he was welcomed by George Furey, speaker of the Senate, and Geoff Regan, speaker of the House of Commons.

After a tete-a-tete with Trudeau, the two premiers had an expanded meeting. They were also to witness the signing of a series of bilateral cooperation documents.

Details of their talks and the agreements were not available by press time.

Premier Li and his wife, Cheng Hong, arrived in Ottawa on Wednesday evening, after an hour-and-a-half flight from New York, where Li had attended the 71st United Nations General Assembly meetings.

Two hours after their arrival, the couple attended a dinner party hosted by Trudeau and his wife at Harrington Lake, the prime minister's country residence.

Trudeau posted a picture of their lakeside chat on his Twitter and WeChat accounts.

The visit marked the first in 13 years by a Chinese premier to "the beautiful land of maples".

Upon his arrival on Wednesday, Li said he believed China-Canada relations have a deep foundation and huge potential and show great development opportunity.

"Our economies, which are at different stages of development, are highly complementary, making us natural partners in cooperation," Li said.

The premier said China is willing to open its markets wider and further increase imports of high-quality agricultural and high-tech products from Canada.