A dispute over C$2 billion ($1.55 billion) worth of Canadian canola exports to China intensified on Thursday when Beijing criticized Ottawa's insistence that bilateral relations could not improve until the matter is settled.

The situation threatens to mar Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's visit to China next week.

"We oppose linking a concrete issue of bilateral trade with China-Canada relations," the Chinese embassy in Ottawa said by email.

This has been excerpted from the 25 August 2016 edition of Reuters Canada and is available in its entirety at:
http://ca.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idCAKCN1101HV