Montreal, Dhu-AlHijjah 22, 1437, September 23, 2016, SPA -- Canada and China announced Thursday the start of exploratory talks towards a free trade agreement and an extradition treaty, even as China's premier was forced to defend his country's human rights record and use of capital punishment, according to dpa. At a press conference in Ottawa after a 90-minute meeting, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang announced a goal to double trade between the two countries by 2020. Trudeau and Li also announced an agreement to end a long-standing dispute over Canadian canola exports by 2020, as well as the resumption of Chinese imports of bone-in beef from Canadian cattle over 30 months of age. Trudeau, the son of former Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau who established diplomatic relations with China in 1970, told reporters the talks were part of an attempt to improve relations between the two countries. Addressing the highly controversial extradition treaty, Trudeau said that Canada would have a "very, very rigorous process" to ensure that the return of wanted Chinese fugitives didn't result in human rights abuses and complied with Canadian law. Canada abolished capital punishment in 1976 and doesn't extradite suspects to the United States in cases where they might face the death penalty, Trudeau said. The same principle would apply to China, he added. Li defended China's continued use of capital punishment as "consistent with our national conditions," saying that torture is against the law in China. This was the second meeting between the two leaders in less than a month. The Chinese premier hosted Trudeau and his family ahead of the G20 summit in Hangzhou. --SPA 00:18 LOCAL TIME 21:18 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/w