China’s foreign minister to visit Canada next week for first time in 10 years

China’s foreign minister will visit Canada next week to meet with his Canadian counterpart, a first visit by a Chinese foreign minister in 10 years. 

The Ottawa visit, which will take place May 28-30, will be the first from a Chinese foreign minister since 2016.

Wang Yi and Anita Anand will discuss the recently updated Canada-China Strategic Partnership, including trade and investment, global security, among other issues, says a statement released by Anand’s office on Friday.

In January 2026, Prime Minister Mark Carney visited Beijing with Anand, where he announced an updated Canada-China Strategic Partnership.

It was the first visit to China by a Canadian prime minister since 2017, following years of frosty and strained relations between the two countries. 

Relations between the Canadian and Chinese governments had deteriorated after the detention of Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou by Canada in 2018 and the subsequent detention of Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig by China.

Guo Jiakun, a spokesman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China, said in a press conference that relations between the two countries have “maintained a positive momentum of growth after experiencing a turnaround,” and the upcoming trip to Canada is of great significance for “consolidating the positive momentum in the turnaround of bilateral relations.”

But the visit has also sent shock waves through the community, as Edmund Leung, chair of the Vancouver Society in Support of Democratic Movement, says Canadian officials can’t bend our values to have business deals with China.

“So to me, it’s almost like they are turning a blind eye on the human rights issues in the name of economic interest,” said Leung. 

Wang will be in New York ahead of the Ottawa visit for the United Nations Security Council meeting on Tuesday. 

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May. 23, 2026. 

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