Canada "looking favorably" at possibility of joining AIIB: PM

The Canadian government is "looking very favorably" at the possibility of joining the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), said Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Tuesday as he kicked off his week-long official visit to China.

Trudeau made the remarks in a dialogue session with Chinese entrepreneurs, during his first visit to China after he took office as Canadian prime minister last November.

"My government believes very much in the importance of investing in infrastructure, that is one of the reasons why we are looking very favorably at the possibility of joining the AIIB," he said.

The AIIB, a not-for-profit multilateral development bank initiated by China, was officially established last December and started operating in January. There are now more than 30 countries waiting to join the AIIB in addition to its 57 founding members, officials at the bank said.

On the trip to strengthen bilateral relations with China, Trudeau is scheduled to meet with Chinese government leaders and members of the business community and the general public. He is also scheduled to attend the Group of 20 summit hosted in China's eastern city of Hangzhou.

China plays an essential role in driving global economic growth as the world's second largest economy, Trudeau said at an event hosted by the China Entrepreneur Club, the first agenda item on his official visit to China.

He noted that "a renewed relationship" will benefit both countries and create new opportunities for trade and investment.

"Any economic strategy that ignores China or treat that valuable relationship as anything less than critical and important is not just short-sighted, it is irresponsible," Trudeau said. "We know that a stronger and deeper relationship with China is essential if we are to achieve our own objectives to create Canadian jobs, to strengthen the middle class, and to grow the Canadian economy."

China is now Canada's second largest trading partner. The trade between the two countries amounted to nearly 67.2 billion U.S. dollars in 2015, a 10.1 percent increase over 2014, and accounted for 8.1 percent of Canada's total merchandise trade, according to Canadian statistics.

Trudeau's visit comes 43 years after his father, Pierre Trudeau, became the first Canadian prime minister to visit China in 1973.

Justin Trudeau, who brought his own daughter on the trip, said he hoped to pass along "friendship and the openness towards China" not only to his own children, but also to the future generations of Canada. Endi