New York, New York - Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said ongoing trade talks with China were "constructive," but suggested that his government is in alignment with the US on some tariff policies.

Carney met with Chinese Premier Li Qiang and other officials on the sidelines of the UN Assembly in New York.

"I will expect, at the appropriate time, to be meeting with President Xi Jinping," he told reporters.

Li also hoped for "further improvement of bilateral relations," Chinese state-run news agency Xinhua reported.

The relationship between the two countries has been strained since Ottawa opted to impose tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles as well as steel and aluminum last year.

In July, Carney's government also announced that Canada will impose 25% tariffs on all imports that contain steel that was melted and poured in China.

The move is a bid to protect the country's steel industry, and comes alongside a prioritizing of domestic steel companies that's fueled by a more than $720 million fund for steel projects.

Both China and Canada have been hit hard by the unprecedented tariff war launched by US President Donald Trump, who has also periodically threatened to annex its neighbor to the north.

Carney has attempted to reduce the temperature with some major concessions and on Tuesday said his government was on the same page with the Trump administration regarding parts of its tariff regime.

"There is some alignment of tariffs with the United States, and I will highlight particularly in the steel sector, where we've been very clear in the approach that we have taken," he said on Tuesday.

"We had an open discussion with [Premier Li] and our Chinese colleagues about that and the reasons for that."