Blame the alphabet for the fact Justin Trudeau and Xi Jinping had a close encounter at this week's APEC summit.
China and Canada routinely rub elbows when leaders gather for photos at the annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation gathering.
But outside the family photo, officials took pains to point out that the two leaders shared little Thursday beyond a perfunctory hello.
Look for the prime minister to be asked during today's closing news conference whether he plans to change that anytime soon.
U.S. President Joe Biden spent four hours with his Chinese counterpart Wednesday in an effort to ease lingering tensions.
Whether Trudeau has any plans to follow Biden's lead remains to be seen.