Prime Minister Mark Carney hopes to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping next week as he tries to offset U.S. tariffs by easing trade tensions with the world’s second-largest economy.

Carney is pursuing a meeting with the Chinese leader on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Gyeongju, South Korea, from Oct. 31 to Nov. 1, but nothing has been confirmed, a Canadian government official told reporters in a background briefing on Thursday.

In the briefing, the official said Carney is pursuing a “strategic relationship” with China. Another official said Carney believes firmly in talking to everyone — he’s been clear about areas in which the two countries can and can’t cooperate, and the goal is to further Canada’s interests and build out good opportunities for Canadia

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