By JEREMY HAINSWORTH
VANCOUVER, British Columbia – Chinese President Hu Jintao returned to Canada on Friday to meet with political and business leaders, but he was greeted by hundreds of demonstrators protesting the communist government’s human rights record.
Hu’s visit comes just as China edged out Canada for the first time as the biggest exporter of goods to the United States, according to newly released Canadian statistics.
In July, Canada sold goods worth $20.6 billion south of the border, compared with $21.3 billion sold by China. China is Canada’s second-largest trading partner, after the United States.
Hu was to attend a private dinner with western Canada business leaders and trade officials Friday.
The protesters gathered at the airport and lined the streets outside Hu’s hotel, slamming China’s Communist Party government for jailing pro-democracy, Christian and Tibetan activists.
Li Yu, 41, a Falun Gong member and software engineer, said she traveled from Sacramento, Calif., to join the protest.
“People are gradually realizing all the evil the (Communist) Party has done,” Li said. “We don’t want any more blood, any more fighting, any more violence.”
Thousands of supporters of Falun Gong, a spiritual form of meditation dubbed an “evil cult” by Beijing, have been jailed since Hu’s precedessor, Jiang Zemin, banned the movement.
Hu began his North American visit in Canada on Sept. 8, meeting Martin in Ottawa. The two pledged to forge ahead with bilateral trade and investment, particularly in energy, natural resources, nuclear power and technology.
Last year, trade with Canada accounted for just 1.3 percent of China’s total trade while Chinese trade made up 2.6 percent of Canada’s total exports and imports.
He meets Martin again Saturday, before returning to Beijing on Sunday.
