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OTTAWA — A Liberal Party Lawmaker Judy Suguro said Wednesday that a Canadian parliamentary delegation will visit Taiwan in October to explore economic opportunities in the Asia-Pacific region.
US House of Representatives Relations between China and the West have soured since Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan earlier this month against Beijing's wishes. China claims Taiwan as its own territory and opposes foreign politicians visiting the island. Democratically ruled Taiwan rejects China's claims.
Following Pelosi's visit, China restricted trade, launched large-scale military exercises around Taiwan, and imposed sanctions on Pelosi.
Beijing also imposed sanctions on a Lithuanian minister who visited Taiwan days after Pelosi's visit.
China said Sunday's return visit by US lawmakers to the capital Taipei was a violation of China's sovereignty and territorial integrity.
The Chinese Embassy in Ottawa did not respond to a request for comment.
Canada's Taipei Economic and Cultural Affairs Bureau did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.
Sgro said members of the parliamentary committee on trade have been planning to visit the island for some time.
"Its intention is not to confuse or cause problems for Taiwan or China. It is about trade, it is about friendship, it is about Canada's opportunities throughout the Asia-Pacific region." Sugro, who heads the trade panel, told Reuters.
Canadian lawmakers said she had visited Taiwan once in the past six months, but canceled it because of the coronavirus pandemic.
"This is part of an ongoing effort to ensure that the doors are open to Canadian businesses wherever there are trade opportunities," Sugro said.
Randy Horbach, a Conservative MP and Vice-Chairman of the Trade Committee, said he would seek advice from Canada's Ministry of Foreign Affairs before deciding to visit Taiwan.
"I think a lot of things need to get back to normal, one of which he said is visitation and country-to-country exchanges," Mr Horbach told Reuters.
A long-running stalemate between Canada and China last year saw U.S. prosecutors agree to end the bank fraud case against Huawei's CFO Meng Wanzhou. ended with She was under house arrest in Canada during her extradition proceedings.
After Meng's release, China released her two Canadians detained in Beijing on suspicion of espionage.
The government of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said it would respect lawmakers' decision to visit Taiwan.
Canada's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement, "The parliamentary and friendship groups travel regularly and we respect their independence.
Foreign Secretary Melanie Jolie said earlier this month that US-China tensions after Pelosi's visit could destabilize the Taiwan Strait region and urged Beijing to de-escalate the situation.(Ismail, Ottawa) (reported by Shakil, edited by Steve Scherer and Josie Kao)