Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Wednesday that China has agreed to extend the deadline for new restrictions on Canadian canola exports beyond September 1, as both countries agreed to negotiate further to find a long-term solution to the problem.      

Trudeau made the announcement in Beijing, after meeting the Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, CBC News reported.

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"We're happy to reassure Canadian farmers that [at] the Sept. 1 deadline we will be able to continue with the current regime of canola and we [would] work together very closely towards a long-term solution in the coming days and weeks ahead," Trudeau said.

China's Premier Li Keqiang told reporters that both sides have "shown flexibility'' on the issue, and he is confident that both parties would make some mutual adjustments after taking into account the larger picture of the China-Canadian trade and diplomatic ties.

The canola issue had cast a shadow on Trudeau's maiden visit to China, with a high-level Canadian delegation visiting Beijing to meet Chinese officials earlier this month to resolve the issue. However, the meeting failed to resolve the impasse.

With China being one of the largest markets for Canada's canola industry, the Canadian government can ill afford to lose control over the lucrative market. Canada exports nearly four million tonnes of canola seeds to China, every year, which is about 40 percent of Canada's annual canola seed exports.

China has expressed reservation over high dockage level found in Canadian canola. The dockage level denotes the quantity of plants, weeds and other foreign materials found in canola. China claims the high level of dockage gas the potential to spread blackleg diseases to crops in the country.

TagsChina and Canada, Canada, Canola Dispute, china