Pakistan, June 6 -- China has expressed its desire to rebuild strong ties with Canada amid ongoing trade tensions between Beijing and several Western countries. Chinese Premier Li Qiang told Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on Friday that China sees no deep-rooted conflict between the two nations. He urged more dialogue to ease concerns on both sides.

The phone call followed recent efforts by Beijing to reduce economic friction. Just a day earlier, U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping held a promising conversation that hinted at a possible thaw in U.S.-China trade tensions. China appears to be expanding this diplomatic outreach to other key partners, including Canada.

Li's outreach comes months after Beijing i...