"This visit by President Hu confirms that the Canada-China strategic partnership is gaining momentum as we mark 40 years of diplomatic relations and chart a course for the future," Harper said in a release.
The announcement is "very welcome news" for the Canada Beef Export Federation, which has long advocated for the reopening of the Chinese border to Canadian beef since the country's first case of BSE in 2003. The National Cattleman’s Beef Association issued a statement that pointed out China is the only major market completely closed to U.S. beef imports, despite the fact that the United States and Canada share the same international BSE risk status.