BEIJING, March 22 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and his Canadian counterpart Justin Trudeau sent congratulatory messages to the opening ceremony of the 2018 China-Canada Tourism Year, which was launched in Toronto, Canada on Wednesday.

Served as a window to connect with each other and a link of friendship, tourism is a significant area of cooperation between China and Canada, Li said in his message.

Tourism between the two countries has been more convenient in recent years, leading the mutual visits scale to over 1.5 million person times in 2017, a new historical record, Li said.

The 2018 China-Canada Tourism Year will bring new opportunities for both sides to expand tourism exchanges, strengthen people-to-people and cultural exchanges, and deepen practical cooperation, he added.

We look forward to the joint efforts of both sides to promote the dissemination of the seeds of friendship between the two peoples in their wonderful tourism experience, Li said.

He further noted that in recent years, the China-Canada strategic partnership has been deepened and the achievements of practical cooperation have continued to benefit the two peoples.

China is willing to work with the Canadian side to continuously strengthen exchanges at the top and all levels, expand practical cooperation in such areas as economy and trade, technology, education, culture and regions, strengthen coordination and cooperation in international affairs, and jointly create a new "Golden Decade" of bilateral relations, Li said.