ISTANBUL

China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Friday urged his Canadian counterpart, Anita Anand, to help address both countries' "legitimate concerns."

Wang expressed China's willingness to cooperate with Canada, as well as to "restart dialogue and exchange at all levels." She vowed to promote the resolution of "each other's legitimate concerns and explore and enhance cooperation in various fields," according to a statement from the Chinese Foreign Ministry.

He also urged Anand to strengthen communication and cooperation on multilateral affairs, jointly uphold multilateralism, and safeguard the international economic and trade order, as well as advance China-Canada relations onto "a track of healthy, stable and sustainable development at an early date."

Anand noted an improvement in current China-Canada relations, expressing Ottawa's willingness to strengthen high-level exchanges with Beijing and "deepen mutual trust," as well as "make good use of dialogue and consultation mechanisms" in diplomacy, economics, and trade, as well as advance collaboration in fields such as trade, agriculture, tourism, energy, and people-to-people exchanges.

She welcomed Chinese companies to invest and do business in Canada.

The top Canadian diplomat also expressed Ottawa's "firm support" for multilateralism and free trade.

The two ministers discussed issues of "respective sensitivity," such as agriculture and agri-food products, among others, according to a readout from the Canadian government.

They identified "key areas where Canada and China can work together constructively, including the environment, energy, and health."

Anand and Wang also "discussed new and established mechanisms, such as consular consultations and law enforcement cooperation dialogue."

Anand was on a visit to China between Thursday and Friday.