The Chinese government will continue to make joint efforts with Canada to advance the construction of a China-Canada free trade zone, with officials trying to create conditions for starting talks as soon as possible, a Chinese trade official told the Global Times on Thursday.
Since September 2016, China and Canada had been considering the feasibility of and also discussing a bilateral free trade agreement (FTA), which was basically completed after one-year of joint efforts, Gao Feng, spokesman of China's Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM), told the Global Times at a press conference in Beijing.
During Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's visit to China from Sunday to Thursday, both countries conducted friendly and profound negotiations on the China-Canada FTA and expressed willingness to talk and sign the agreement, Gao noted.
"China has been and will be open to the outside world, and we suppose that signing the China-Canada FTA will benefit the two nations," Gao said.
