New beginning

President Hu Jintao's state visit to Cana- da, which ended on Friday, thawed the relatively icy relations between Beijing and Ottawa. The exchange of warm remarks between Hu and Canadian leaders reflected the strong political will of the two sides to seek a new beginning to an all-round partnership.

Hu and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper signed several important agreements in fields ranging from trade to tourism, and pledged to double the volume of two-way trade to $60 billion by 2015. Closer bilateral trade relations will be a double blessing for the economic growth of the two countries and the world economy as a whole.

The new deals will bring real benefits to the two peoples, too. Chinese will get to enjoy Canadian beef again as the country resumes imports. The tourism agreement will help the tourism industries of the two countries to tap the full potential of each other's market.