BEIJING - In his first official overseas visit in his current post, Canadian Foreign Minister John Baird met Vice-Premier Li Keqiang in Beijing on Monday, with both calling for increased economic cooperation between the two countries.

Vice-Premier Li Keqiang meets Canadian Foreign Minister John Baird in Beijing on Monday. Li Tao / Xinhua

"China and Canada could take advantage of their complementary economies and maximize their potential, so as to expand practical cooperation in areas such as business and trade, energy and resources, science, environmental protection and healthcare," Li said.

The vice-premier also said that China's 12th Five-Year Plan (2011-2015) will bring a lot of opportunities to other countries, including Canada.

Baird said that Canada is satisfied with the development of bilateral ties over the past two years and wants to further boost relations with China.

Earlier on Monday, Baird also met his Chinese counterpart Yang Jiechi at the Foreign Ministry.

"We appreciate your positive attitude toward the development of Sino-Canadian relations," Yang said.

"I believe that there is a bright future for relations between our two countries," he added.

Baird arrived in Beijing on Sunday at the start of his five-day visit to Beijing and Shanghai. This is his first official overseas visit since becoming Canada's foreign minister in June and the first foreign trip of a government minister since the Conservatives secured a majority in this year's federal election.

He is scheduled to go to Shanghai on Tuesday to meet Chinese and Canadian business leaders.

The visit will be followed by a four-day tour of Indonesia, where Baird will attend a meeting of South Asian nations.

When announcing plans for his China trip, Baird said trade would be the focus of his visit.

"Our government's first priority - and the reason the Canadian people gave us the strong mandate they did - is to focus on creating jobs and completing our economic recovery," he said.

"Strengthening ties with China, which is home to one of the world's most important and fastest-growing economies, makes sense."

Canada's Conservative government quarreled with Beijing often during the early days of Prime Minister Stephen Harper's tenure in 2006 over Taiwan and Tibet.

Ottawa's stance, however, evolved over the past five years and now focuses more on economic and trade matters.

The Conservative Party of Canada sent a message congratulating the Communist Party of China on its 90th anniversary on July 1.

"The symbolism that China is now front and square in our national interest could not be greater," Fen Osler Hampson, director of the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs at Canada's Carleton University, wrote in a commentary on Ipolitics, a Canadian news website.

"So, too, is the fact that he (Baird) is devoting much of his time (to) meeting with Chinese and Canadian business leaders, underscoring Prime Minister Harper's message that 'prosperity' is the government's number one priority," he added.

Niu Xinchun, a scholar on US studies expert at China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, said the shift in the Canadian government's stance has been driven by both economic and political factors.

The two nations agreed in 2010 that the value of their bilateral trade would double to $60 billion annually by 2015.

According to official figures, there are around 70,000 Chinese students in Canada. Beijing and Ottawa expect that figure to more than double to 150,000 in the next few years.