Canada Says Tensions Did Not ‘Necessarily’ End COVID-19 Vaccine Partnership With China

Canada Says Tensions Did Not ‘Necessarily’ End COVID-19 Vaccine Partnership With China
A logo of China's vaccine specialist CanSino Biologics Inc. is pictured on the company's headquarters in Tianjin, following an outbreak of the coronavirus disease, on Aug. 17, 2020. Reuters/Thomas Peter
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OTTAWA—The end to a partnership on a coronavirus vaccine between Chinese firm CanSino Biologics and Canada’s National Research Council was not “necessarily” tied to diplomatic tensions between the two countries, Canada’s foreign minister said on Thursday.

Canadian Foreign Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne met his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi for about 90 minutes on Tuesday in Rome, where he urged Beijing to release two Canadian citizens it has detained.