Fred Dufour/Pool Photo via AP Chinese President Xi Jinping attends a meeting with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing on Dec. 5, 2017.

The setting must have looked familiar to Justin Trudeau as he returned to a gleaming state guesthouse in Beijing for talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping, his second visit in 15 months. This time, however, the prime minister found himself sitting across from a far more dominant ruler of the Asian superpower. Xi's progression since his last meeting with Trudeau has meaningful implications for Canada, experts argue — particularly as Ottawa navigates the risks of closer ties with Xi's increasingly assertive China. In recent months, the ambitious Xi has significantly tightened his grip on the leadership to become China's most powerful figure in decades. 'The world's most powerful man' Xi solidified his position during the ruling Communist Party's congress in October when his name and policies were formally enshrined into the party's constitution. The change has elevated him to a status shared only by China's core Communist leaders, Mao Zedong, Deng Xiaoping and Jiang Zemin. Ahead of the congress, The Economist magazine had already dubbed Xi "the world's most powerful man." Enter Trudeau, who met with Xi in China for the first time since September 2016. Since then, their governments have been engaged in exploratory talks on a free-trade agreement.

On the one hand, Canada sees vast opportunity in forging a deeper business relationship with China, the world's second-largest economy. On the flip side, Trudeau is constantly under pressure to transmit Canadian concerns to Chinese leaders over the country's record on human rights and its rule of law. Before Tuesday's meeting, Trudeau insisted he wouldn't hesitate to raise Canada's unease about China directly with Xi. This time, however, experts believe Trudeau's words have likely had a tougher time getting through. "I do think that Mr. Trudeau is probably meeting a different Xi — a Xi who is much more confident and who is much more dismissive of accommodating the concerns of the West," said Charles Burton, a political science professor at Brock University and a former Canadian diplomat. Indeed, Burton said he believes Trudeau's visit this week has already shown signs of China's self-assured shift. I do think that Mr. Trudeau is probably meeting a different Xi — a Xi who is much more confident and who is much more dismissive of accommodating the concerns of the West.Charles Burton Earlier this week, the two sides announced they were not ready to move beyond the current phase of exploratory trade talks — despite China's growing impatience to launch formal negotiations with Canada. Trudeau has been pushing for a progressive trade deal with China that would address issues such as gender equality, the environment and labour rights.

Fred Dufour/Pool Photo via AP Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, fourth from left, speaks to Chinese President Xi Jinping, third from right, during a meeting at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing on Dec. 5, 2017.

It's not yet clear just how unwelcome Canada's proposed progressive chapters were in Beijing, but experts called it unlikely Xi's group would consider entertaining them. Hongying Wang, a political science professor from University of Waterloo, said Xi has already left his mark on China's governance structure, leading it away from the collective approach of the country's past towards a more autocratic, top-down style. "It's a matter of principle, I think, for the Canadian government to state its position — I guess the challenge is how do you state your position without completely cutting off any hopes of a good trade relationship? It's a very hard balance," Wang said. "I really don't think he's someone anyone can press into something he doesn't want to do." China isn't rising — it has risen Diana Fu, an expert in Asian politics from the University of Toronto, said Xi's emergence means Trudeau will have to continue approaching the Chinese president "carefully and tactfully" because he's shown he won't bow to foreign powers. "Any negotiations with the Xi administration will have to consider how to deal with not a rising China, but a risen one — this makes it more difficult than perhaps any other ... talks previously," Fu wrote in an email. "How do you convince the Canadian public that potential economic benefits of free trade offsets concern over diametrically opposing values?"

Sean Kilpatrick/Canadian Press Prime Minister Justin Trudeau meets Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing on Dec. 5, 2017.