TORONTO, Sept 22: China’s ambassador to Canada warned in remarks published on Saturday against allowing domestic politics to drive the Canadian government’s decision on whether to approve Chinese state-owned oil company CNOOC Ltd’s proposed $15.1 billion takeover of Canadian oil producer Nexen Inc.

“Business is business. It should not be politicised,” Ambassador Zhang Junsai said in an interview with Canada’s Globe and Mail newspaper.

“If we politicise all this, then we can’t do business.”

The CNOOC deal, if completed, would mark the first outright takeover of a large Canadian energy producer by a Chinese state-owned enterprise.

The ambassador also said negotiating a full free-trade agreement within a decade would be the best way of assuring fair, two-way trade and investment between China and Canada. “It’s time to open up each other’s markets,” Zhang said.

“It’s high time to do the exploratory work on the possibility of a free-trade agreement.” The newspaper said it was the first time that a senior Chinese representative called for early, accelerated talks on a free-trade deal.—Reuters