Canada to announce the opening of 7 new visa offices in China

Canada's ambassador to China says the government will announce that seven additional visa offices will open in the country.

Speaking to reporters Thursday at the Great Wall of China, Guy Saint-Jacques said that until now, visa offices have been limited to cities where Canada had a diplomatic presence.

He said Chinese tourist travel to Canada went up 24 per cent in the first six months of this year, helping make China the third source of visitors after the U.S. and the U.K.

Saint-Jacques said a direct Air China flight was added in September 2015 between Beijing and Montreal — a change that increased visits by Chinese tourists to the city by 200 per cent this year.

Saint-Jacques said one point of Trudeau's visit is to encourage more Chinese citizens to visit Canada. 

The ambassador joined Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, his wife Sophie Gregoire and their daughter, Ella-Grace, at the Great Wall of China.

Tour of Great Wall

Trudeau took a break from meetings Wednesday to tour the Great Wall of China. He arrived with his wife, Sophie Gregoire and their daughter Ella-Grace.

Before walking along the wall, Trudeau oversaw a quick ceremony to mark an agreement signed Wednesday between Parks Canada and its equivalent in China, the National Development and Reform Commission on the establishment, conservation and management of national parks systems.

Saint-Jacques said it will help China improve how it manages its parks, like the Great Wall.

This is Trudeau's third visit to the Wall, and when he was leaving he said, "it's beautiful. It gets more beautiful every time I come."

As Trudeau and his family were leaving, they popped into a gift shop. There, they bought Chinese meditation balls for their oldest son Xavier, and a small stuffed panda for their youngest, Hadrien.

Trudeau's week-long official visit to China continued Thursday as he met with Zhang Dejiang, chairman of the National People's Congress at the Great Hall of the People.