Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper agreed Tuesday to advance relations between their countries and enhance cooperation in various areas.

During a telephone conversation, Harper said Canada hopes to build upon its good ties with China and further advance bilateral relations by strengthening communication and promoting cooperation in trade, investment and other areas.

For his part, Li noted that bilateral ties have made headway in recent years, with remarkable breakthroughs in trade and economic cooperation, and are now at a new historical starting point.

China values its relationship with Canada, and stands ready to work with the Canadian side to enhance political mutual trust, accommodate each other's concerns, and elevate their strategic partnership to a higher level on the basis of mutual respect and equality, he said.

China and Canada are two countries in the Asia-Pacific region, which has extremely high potential for further development, the Chinese premier said.

The two sides should tap their complementary strengths, jointly create a market of fair competition, and cooperate in high-tech and other fields, he added.

They also should promote the dynamic balance in bilateral trade, deepen and enrich cultural and people-to-people exchanges, and actively expand converging interests so as to translate their enormous cooperation potential into tangible win-win results, Li said.

The two also exchanged views on international issues of mutual interest.

(Xinhua News Agency April 2, 2013)