Foreign Correspondence

[Amaunet]

China's Hu to visit Canada in September - report
08.21.2005, 06:45 AM

MONTREAL (AFX) - Prime Minister Paul Martin will meet with Chinese President Hu Jintao in Canada next month as part of the Chinese leader's first North American tour, the Vancouver Sun reported.

The leaders from Canada and China, Canada's second-largest trading partner after the United States, will discuss trade, investment, human rights and cultural exchanges, according to the newspaper.

While Chinese and Canadian diplomatic officials declined to confirm Hu's visit, the Chinese embassy in Ottawa said it was the subject of negotiations, the newspaper said.

'But nothing is finalized,' the paper quoted an embassy official as saying.

Canadian foreign ministry spokesman Andrew Hannan told AFP that 'we cannot confirm the visit of the Chinese president to Canada.'

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http://www.forbes.com/work/feeds/afx/2005/08/21/afx2186856.html