John McCallum, Canada's newly appointed ambassador to China, meet Chinese press at the Canadian Embassy in Beijing on April 6. (Photo: Ecns.cn/Feng Shuang)
(ECNS) -- Canada's new ambassador to China hopes to play an active role in expanding bilateral relations as both countries hope for stronger ties.
John McCallum, the new envoy, handed his credentials to Chinese President Xi Jinping about three weeks ago.
"The first thing I told President Xi, on behalf of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, is that we want to do 'more'," he told a group of Chinese reporters last week.
"More, more and more! That means we want more trade, more investment, more tourists and other cooperation," the ambassador explained in both English and mandarin.
China and Canada are on the same page on a lot of issues, such as the environment and fighting protectionism, McCallum said. However, "good friends don't always agree with each other," he added.
He said that as an ambassador, he will seek to present Canadian views honestly, frankly and openly to Chinese leaders and work hard to further positive ties between the two nations.
Having served in three administrations as minister of defense, veteran affairs as well as immigration and refugees, McCallum said he would make most of his experience in building bridges between both countries.
The ambassador, whose wife is Chinese, expressed his strong attachment to China. "My wife is 100 percent Chinese, my sons 50 percent, and 40 percent of the population in my electoral district are Chinese," he said.
During the past weeks in China, McCallum has already taken a trip to southwest Chongqing where he participated in a food festival and met local officials. He is going to celebrate his birthday during a visit to Shanghai later this month.
The envoy also expects to travel back to Canada more often than his predecessors to "persuade Canadians to better facilitate stronger China-Canadian ties."
MaCallum now spends six hours a week learning mandarin. "Hope you can hear me speaking more Chinese the next time," he said.
