“We need to put maximum pressure on Russia,” Joly said. “Our sanctions are strong, but China cannot be the loophole in our sanction system.”
Last year Russia surpassed Saudi Arabia to become China’s top crude oil supplier as the world’s biggest crude importer defied Western sanctions to purchase vast quantities of discounted oil for its processing plants.
Chinese refiners use intermediary traders to handle the shipping and insurance of Russian crude to avoid violating Western sanctions.
After the Saturday meeting with Joly, Yi spoke of the need to “rebuild trust” with Canada after years of diplomatic tensions.
China-Canada relations turned icy in late 2018 when Canadian police detained a Chinese telecommunications executive. Shortly after, Beijing arrested two Canadians on spying charges.
Relations remained strained for most of last year as Canada’s parliament probed alleged Chinese meddling in its elections, a claim China has repeatedly denied.