China's foreign minister has urged Canada not to act as "the paws of the tiger" on behalf of the United States.

In a phone call with his Canadian counterpart, State Councillor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said that the people of China and Canada had long-standing friendly relations, and Canada was one of the first Western countries to establish diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China. 

However, a readout of the call from the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs says he told Melanie Joly that in recent years China-Canada relations had suffered a serious setback due to the Meng Wanzhou incident.

He said the U.S. was using the incident as coercion to suppress Chinese high-tech companies, a disgraceful act that the world could see clearly. 

No country should "act as the paws of the tiger" and promote such unilateral bullying, he told Ms Joly.

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Wang Yi said the current state of relations between the two countries was not in the interests of both sides, and the Canadian side should take three steps to face the problem squarely.

First, China should be viewed positively and objectively, and a pragmatic and stable policy towards China should be pursued. 

Second, they should respect each other's core interests and not set new obstacles to China-Canada relations. 

Wang Yi said the one-China principle was the political foundation of China-Canada relations. If the Taiwan issue was not handled properly, China-Canada relations would suffer fundamental damage.

Third,  they should adhere to independence and exclude unnecessary external interference. 

According to the readout Canada's foreign minister Melanie Joly said Canada-China relations had a solid foundation.

She said Canada respected China's sovereignty, system and the choices made by the Chinese people independently, and positively evaluated the great achievements of China's development, especially in poverty eradication. 

However, she admitted Canada and China were in a difficult phase in their relationship, and said Canada was ready to work with China in a spirit of openness, mutual respect, and forward-looking spirit to gradually put the relationship back on track and build a more resilient bilateral relationship. 

She said Canada appreciated China's important contribution to the global fight against the epidemic and was willing to strengthen cooperation with China on climate change, environmental protection and the fight against the epidemic.

The two sides also exchanged views on the Ukraine issue. Wang Yi said President Xi Jinping has made a comprehensive and authoritative statement on China's position. Mélanie Joly said the Canadian side was willing to maintain communication with the Chinese side.