The Globe and Mail reports from its Thursday, April 2, edition that Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem and Bay Street executives have joined Finance Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne in Beijing to strengthen ties with China. The Globe's Bill Curry and Mark Rendell write that Mr. Champagne arrived on Wednesday and held a round table with Canadian financial services executives on Thursday. The group includes Phil Witherington, chief executive officer of Manulife Financial, Kevin Strain, CEO of Sun Life, and Scott Brison, vice-chair of BMO Wealth. Also attending are local executives from Power Corp. of Canada, Brookfield Asset Management, National Bank of Canada, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, Royal Bank of Canada, Toronto-Dominion Bank, Mackenzie Investments and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board. Mr. Champagne will meet with China's Vice-Premier He Lifeng on Friday, followed by talks with senior Chinese officials, financial regulators and Canadian executives. Mr. Champagne and Mr. Macklem arrived together Thursday morning at the Canadian embassy in Beijing, where they were welcomed at the entrance by Ambassador Jennifer May. China is Canada's second-largest trade partner.