Trudeau visits Sina Weibo

The Old Port of Montreal, Quebec in Canada. The country is set to increase exchanges in tourism with China. Provided to China Daily

Canadian prime minister marks next year's joint tourism campaign, which will be promoted on the social media site, boosting cultural, economic ties

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau visited the headquarters of Sina Weibo - China's answer to Twitter - in Beijing on Monday.

With the Canada-China Tourism Year coming up in 2018, Trudeau announced Canada will host the closing ceremonies in China next fall, while China will host the opening ceremonies in Canada next spring.

The logo of the tourism year was unveiled during his visit: a black-and-white circle design that consists of a giant panda and polar bear, representative animals from both countries.

Events and celebrations that showcase Chinese and Canadian cultures will be held in both countries next year.

"The Canada-China Year of Tourism is an exceptional opportunity to strengthen people-to-people connections between our two countries and celebrate the best that Canada and China offer the world," Trudeau said.

"It will grow our tourism sector, which means more middle-class jobs for Canadians and better economic growth for communities across the country."

According to him, Canada boasts a diversity of landscapes, ranging from world-class cities and incredible national parks, to green mountains and forests.

"As breathtaking as our geography can be, it's our people who make Canada great and worth visiting, from indigenous people to recent immigrants. They are friendly and polite," the Canadian prime minister said.

Trudeau talked with four young Chinese people about their unique travel experiences in Canada. He shared with them his own stories of backpacking with friends in China in the early 1990s.

"The idea that young Chinese are able to do the same thing in Canada that I did in China many years ago is a wonderful synchronicity," he said.

One of the things they're working hard on is to attract more young Chinese tourists to Canada, because the impact on them and Canada will be wonderful.

"The biggest challenge of traveling is that you leave your social circle and discover the world and new things about yourself," he said.

With more than 134,000 followers on Sina Weibo, Trudeau communicates with Chinese people and promotes Canada as a destination for Chinese tourists. He set up his Weibo account in early 2013, before he took office as prime minister in 2015.

"As a popular internet influencer on Sina Weibo, there is no doubt that the Canadian prime minister is one of the most popular foreign leaders on Weibo," said Cao Guowei, CEO and chairman of Sina, a leading Chinese news portal, which owns Sina Weibo.

During the event, Sina Weibo signed a memorandum of understanding with Destination Canada, which promotes the country's tourism offerings internationally, to better promote the country's rich tourism resources on the Chinese social media platform.

xulin@chinadaily.com.cn