As China and Canada are marking the 40th anniversary of their diplomatic relations, Lawrence Cannon, Canadian minister of foreign affairs, has said that the event presents a perfect opportunity to enhance Canada's engagement with China, which is an important global player.

"To that end, Canada is looking forward to strengthening our relationship with China as we continue to implement the provisions of the Canada-China Joint Statement in the priority areas of trade and investment, energy and environment, health and governance,"he said before his departure for a two-day visit to China.

"The friendship between our two great countries has existed for far longer than four decades," Cannon said, in an exclusive interview with Xinhua on Monday. "As far back as the 19th century, Canadian men and women worked with local Chinese communities to build hospitals and schools."

In 1961, the transpacific friendship was reinforced when Canada, led by the government of Prime Minister John Diefenbaker, and China negotiated an unprecedented deal that led to the export of 362 million U.S. dollars worth of Canadian grain to China, which was suffering from an acute food shortage.

The ice-breaking "grain diplomacy"led to the establishment of diplomatic ties on Oct. 13, 1970 when Canada became one of the main western countries to recognize the People's Republic of China, and to the official visit to China by Pierre Trudeau, the first ever by a Canadian prime minister, which laid the foundation for a long-term friendly relations.

"Of course, these negotiations could not have been successful without the key support of important Chinese leaders like Premier Zhou Enlai,"Cannon added.

On prominent figures that played important roles in forging bilateral relations, Cannon mentioned Dr. Norman Bethune, a legendary Canadian battlefield surgeon who devoted his life for assisting the Chinese in their resistance against Japanese invasion in the late 1930s.

He also talked about Mark Rowswell (his Chinese name is Da Shan) , a Canadian student-turned-comedy star who is well known in modern China. Cannon appointed him as Commissioner General of Canada's Pavilion at the Shanghai World Exposition (EXPO) last year.

"And let us not forget the roles played by Dr. Norman Bethune, and Mark Rowswell, who personifies the dynamism that exists in present day Canada-China relations," he said.

Cannon stressed that Canada places a high priority on its relations with China as demonstrated by the intense pace of high- level visits in the past few years -- more than 30 ministerial visits to China since 2006.

He spoke highly of Prime Minister Harper's visit to China in December 2009, which put new momentum to the relationship and brought about a number of key commercial developments.

"The Strategic Partnership between Canada and China is flourishing," he said. "During Prime Minister Harper's visit, China's granting of Approved Destination Status for Canada was announced, an exciting development in our relationship which will allow for increased flows of tourists, students and businesspeople between the two countries."