Carney, who is expected to meet President Xi Jinping for talks on Friday, is the first Canadian leader to visit China in eight years.

The two leaders met on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in South Korea in October, which Carney described as a "turning point" in the two nations' strained relationship.

Carney's predecessor Justin Trudeau visited China in December 2017.

But ties withered in 2018 after the arrest of a senior executive from Chinese tech giant Huawei on a US warrant in Vancouver and China's retaliatory detention of two Canadians on espionage charges.

China has also been accused of interfering in Canadian elections in recent years.

Aside from Xi, Carney will meet with Premier Li Qiang and business leaders for trade negotiations.

Beijing said this week it "attaches high importance" to the visit.