On November 1, 2023, Vice President Han Zheng met with former Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chrétien in Beijing.

Han Zheng said, Jean Chrétien is an old friend and good friend of the Chinese people. The ten years Jean Chrétien served as prime minister was the "golden decade" of China-Canada relations and he has continued to contribute to China-Canada friendship after leaving office. It has been more than half a century since China and Canada established diplomatic relations. A sound and stable China-Canada relationship not only serves the fundamental interests of the two countries and two peoples, but also contributes to world peace and development. As major countries with influence, China and Canada need to strengthen coordination and cooperation to jointly address climate change and other global challenges. Noting that reform and opening up is a fundamental national policy of China, he said China will continue to steadfastly expand opening-up and accelerate the establishment of a new development paradigm. China welcomes more Canadian companies to invest and do business in China and share development opportunities.

Jean Chrétien said, Canada and China are natural cooperative partners with strong economic complementarity and huge potential for cooperation. He expressed willingness to continue contributing to practical cooperation and friendly exchanges between the two countries, so as to promote the long-term development of Canada-China relations.