Chinese Vice President Han Zheng met separately with a Canadian business delegation led by Canada’s Industry Minister Melanie Joly and with Lars Rebien Sørensen, Chair of the Novo Nordisk Foundation and Chair of Novo Nordisk’s Board of Directors, in Beijing on Thursday.
During talks with the Canadian delegation, Han highlighted the strong economic complementarities between China and Canada and underscored the significant potential for future cooperation. He said China is prepared to work with Canada to implement the consensus reached by the two countries’ leaders, strengthen cooperation in traditional industries, and expand collaboration in emerging sectors such as electric vehicles and artificial intelligence.
Han also emphasized the importance of advancing the China-Canada strategic partnership on a stable, sustainable, and mutually beneficial path.
Joly welcomed deeper economic engagement between the two countries, saying Canada is committed to expanding mutually beneficial cooperation between Canadian and Chinese businesses and supporting the healthy and stable development of bilateral relations.
In a separate meeting, Han discussed economic and healthcare cooperation with Lars Rebien Sørensen of Novo Nordisk. He noted that China places a high priority on public health and encouraged the Danish pharmaceutical giant to contribute to the country’s Healthy China Initiative.
Han reaffirmed China’s commitment to expanding high-level opening-up policies and creating a world-class business environment that is market-oriented, law-based, and internationally competitive. He said China will continue supporting foreign-invested companies, including Novo Nordisk, as they expand their operations in the country.
Sørensen expressed confidence in China’s long-term economic prospects and said Novo Nordisk plans to further expand its presence in China while contributing to the development of the country’s pharmaceutical and healthcare sectors.
