Tourism minister postpones trip to China amid tensions between two countries
OTTAWA — Tourism Minister Melanie Joly won’t go to China to mark the end of a special year of tourism exchanges, she announced Friday, as relations between the two countries continued to plummet.
The decision puts the brakes on a major Sino-Canadian initiative meant to deepen ties between the countries.
Joly spokesman Jeremy Ghio said the two countries “mutually agreed to postpone” a ceremony marking the end of the Canada-China Year of Tourism to “allow us to better achieve our shared objectives.”
The cancellation follows Canada’s arrest — at the U.S.’s behest — of a leading Chinese telecom executive and Beijing’s apparent retaliation by detaining two Canadians.