BEIJING - Chinese Vice-President Xi Jinping met with visiting former Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien on Monday in Beijing, vowing to bring the strategic partnership between the two nations to new heights.

China and Canada are sharing opportunities to jointly address the challenges facing their national development and promote peace and stability in the world, Xi said.

Applauding recent developments in bilateral ties, Xi called on the two sides to generate efforts to step up the strategic partnership that has been rapidly expanding in recent years.

Chinese President Hu Jintao and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper had a successful meeting on the sidelines of the Economic Leaders Meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) in Hawaii, and reached an important consensus on this, Xi added.

The two sides should seize such opportunities in a bid to increase mutual trust, intensify high-level exchanges and cooperation at various levels and strengthen bilateral coordination in significant regional and international issues, the Chinese vice president proposed.

Agreeing with Xi's views on bilateral relations, Chretien said he was proud of his personal involvement in the development of Canada-China ties, and he will continue to work to further promote bilateral relations.