The meeting between Prime Minister Mark Carney and Xi Jinping, China’s top leader, came after a long period of tension and estrangement.

Relations nosedived in 2018 after Canada arrested a senior Huawei executive and have remained rocky ever since.

One of the last meetings on Mark Carney’s whirlwind tour of Asia may be his most important: a Friday sit-down with Chinese President Xi Jinping, as the Prime Minister seeks new markets to offset the economic damage that Donald Trump is doing to Canada.

Japan's new Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi was expected to convey to Chinese Premier Xi Jinping grave concerns over China's behaviour, including around the Senkaku Islands, known as the Diaoyu Islands by China.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney hailed Saturday talks with Chinese leader Xi Jinping as a "turning point" in relations, adding he had raised tricky topics like foreign interference with Beijing. "We have now unlocked a path forward to address current issues," Carney told journalists in the South Korean city of Gyeongju.