China trade interests to slow

Photo: Contributed

Canada's trade minister says the government is expecting Canadian business interest in China to slow amid significant tensions between the two countries.

However, Jim Carr also says he is confident Canada and China will eventually work through their differences, allowing economic ties between the two Pacific nations to flourish once again.

Carr says his confidence is based on the long and complex trading relationship between Canada and China, which has continued in spite of what he described as a "difficult period."

Ottawa and Beijing have been locked in a diplomatic dispute since the arrest of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou in Vancouver last month at the request of the United States.

After her arrest, China detained two Canadians on allegations of engaging in activities that endangered the country's national security, and sentenced another Canadian to death for drug-smuggling.

American authorities formally requested Meng's extradition to the U.S. last month, and her case is due back in a Vancouver court in March.