Chinese President Xi Jinping invited Prime Minister Mark Carney to visit China as the pair met on the sidelines of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in South Korea on Friday.

Mark Carney on Friday accepted an invitation from Xi Jinping to visit China as they sat down for the first formal meeting between a Canadian prime minister and the Chinese president since 2017.

Chinese President Xi Jinping invited Prime Minister Mark Carney to visit China as the pair sat down for a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in South Korea today.

Carney is expected to meet with Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Friday at the APEC leaders summit in South Korea. It will be the first official meeting between the two countries’ leaders since 2017, when Justin Trudeau was Canada’s prime minister, and marks a significant thaw in a relationship that has been mired in acrimony for several years.

The meeting between Prime Minister Mark Carney of Canada and Xi Jinping, China’s top leader, scheduled for later this week, appeared to signal a pivot to Asia after decades of poor relations between his country and Beijing.

The U.S. president and the Canadian prime minister exchanged gestures but barely spoke at a dinner in advance of the APEC Summit.

Prime Minister Mark Carney is preparing to meet with Chinese president Xi Jinping Friday, while at a summit in South Korea.

Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney could possibly meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping in South Korea after U.S. trade deal is terminated by President Trump