On July 1, Canadian soprano Katherine Whyte sang a list of selected classical operas and songs at the Canadian Embassy in Beijing, to celebrate Canada Day with Canadian diplomats and Chinese guests.

It was her second time in China. Whyte once traveled to West China’s Qinghai province, where her parents taught English in the capital city Xining.

Whyte has performed on premiere opera and concert stages across Canada, the United States and Europe and has sung with some of the world’s most celebrated opera companies and orchestras – including the Metropolitan Opera, Canadian Opera Company and the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, among others.

“And not only is today a special day, but this year is also a special year as we celebrate the 45th anniversary of Canada-China diplomatic relations,” said Sarah Taylor, charge d’affaires of the Canadian Embassy in China, during the embassy event.

“China is Canada’s second largest trading partner, and our second largest export market. Cultural exchanges – in the performing arts, fine arts, literature, or film – are also a key and growing part of our ties,” Taylor said. “In fact, throughout 2015-2016, we are celebrating people-to-people and cultural exchange in both our countries.”

The arts and music exchange between Canada and China has become more frequent as the two countries continue to enhance the people-to-people connection.

Stellae Boreales, a violin ensemble from Ottawa, gave its performance on Sunday at the National Center for the Performing Arts in Beijing.

Canada's world-class Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal debuted in Beijing and Shanghai last November as one of the featured acts of the Beijing Music Festival.

The orchestra, under the direction of Japanese-American conductor Kent Nagano, a two-time Grammy winner, gave a concert in the Forbidden City Music Hall to commemorate the 150th birthday of German composer Richard Strauss.

In November 2014 China’s NCPA Orchestra, led by chief conductor Lv Qing, took a concert tour in North America that included three Canadian cities – Ottawa, Toronto and Montreal.