President Hu Jintao said in Ottawa Thursday that China will work with Canada to seize the opportunity to expand bilateral cooperation creating a better future for bilateral ties.

Hu, who arrived in the Canadian capital on Thursday morning on a state visit as the guest of Canadian Governor-General Adrienne Clarkson, made the remarks at a reception ceremony.

Hu reviewed the rapid growth of exchanges and cooperation in the past 35 years of bilateral diplomatic ties in politics, economy, trade, energy, science, technology, education and culture, as well as fruitful bilateral cooperation on major international and regional issues.

He said the economies of the two countries are highly complementary and hold vast potential for reciprocal cooperation.

To further bilateral relations also serves the requirements of the times and the aspiration of the two peoples, as the two countries are influential and shoulder major responsibilities for safeguarding world peace and promoting common development, Hu said.

Clarkson also highlighted the flourishing bilateral relationship at the ceremony.

In their meeting after the ceremony, Hu and Clarkson reviewed the friendship and cooperation between their countries in recent years.

Hu told Clarkson that China attaches great importance to the friendly cooperation with Canada, and his current visit is aimed at enhancing mutual trust and promoting cooperation so as to push bilateral partnership of all-round cooperation to a new level.

Chinese statistics show that China-Canada trade volume last year reached US$15.5 billion, a 55 percent increase over the previous year. In the first half of 2005, trade was valued at US$9 billion.

This is the first visit to Canada by a Chinese head of state in eight years.

Hu is also scheduled to pay a state visit to Mexico. He will then attend the UN summit in New York to be held from September 14 to 16.

(Xinhua News Agency September 9, 2005)