China and Canada pledged on Thursday to jointly uphold the multilateral trading system and the core role of the United Nations in international affairs while agreeing to strengthen dialogue and promote cooperation in various fields.

Premier Li Qiang and visiting Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney expressed the two countries' commitment to enhancing bilateral relations and safeguarding multilateralism during their talks at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.

Carney arrived in Beijing on Wednesday for a four-day official visit to China, the first trip to the country by a Canadian prime minister in eight years, highlighting the recent warming of bilateral ties. President Xi Jinping is expected to meet with him during Carney's stay in Beijing.

Li said that, through joint efforts, China-Canada relations have seen a turnaround, which has been widely welcomed by various sectors in both countries.

Maintaining a healthy and stable development of China-Canada relations aligns with the common interests of both nations, he added.

Standing at a new starting point, China is willing to work with Canada to maintain the strategic partnership, strengthen dialogue and communication, enhance political mutual trust, respect each other's core interests, seek common ground while reserving differences, and continuously expand pragmatic cooperation to add greater momentum to the development of both countries, Li said. He underlined the need for the two countries to promote stable growth in bilateral trade.

Li also stressed the need for both sides to enhance trade facilitation, deepen collaboration in the fields of clean energy, digital technology, modern agriculture, aviation and aerospace, advanced manufacturing and finance, and foster more new drivers of economic growth.

While welcoming more Canadian companies to invest in China, the premier expressed the hope that Canada would provide a fair and nondiscriminatory business environment for Chinese companies investing in the country.

China is willing to strengthen cooperation with Canada under the frameworks of the UN, the World Trade Organization and the G20, in order to jointly uphold multilateralism and free trade, improve global governance and promote the international order toward a more just and reasonable direction, Li said.