Feds getting serious with China as US, world economies continue to slide
As expected in a previous post, our federal government is getting serious about China. CIV reports, using UN’s trade stats data, that Canada remains in the late teens of ranking as China’s trade partners throughout these years. When the US is getting more unreliable lately, finally our government realizes that the next best safe haven for the Canadian economy is in China.
It’s glad to see the government is catching up. My only hope is that it isn’t too late when China’s economic growth is also shrinking and given the poor relationship we have had with China in the last few years. Look at France. China’s premier Wen Jiabao skipped France in his recent visit to Europe, in which China signed billions and billions worth of projects with the UK, Germany etc. France’s relationship with China turned sour in last year’s Olympic Torch Run and Paris mayor’s insistence on meeting the Dalai Lama.
It’ll be very interesting to see what the Tories will react when the Dalai Lama visits Canada laster this year.
The feds are probably preparing the stage for bettering relationship with China lately, including a recent FM Lawrence Cannon’s statement to commend China’s improvements on human rights.
One interesting observation today, apart from the report released earlier by the Fraser Institute urging for more trade with China, is that a pro-Tory Chinese radio phone-in show today widely opens up its airwaves to pro-China comments, including those from frequent callers whose voices have always been pro-Tory (there’re a few names that I can recall off head who call in almost everyday, to every show).
From London Free Press:
Harper boosts trade ties with Americans, Chinese
- The Conservative government is bolstering Canada’s trade ties with China as it tries to beat back the protectionist threat that could slow the flow of goods with the U.S.
…But as Harper worked to raise Canada’s profile in the U.S., key Conservative ministers unveiled plans to open six new trade offices in China “very shortly.”
“We will be indeed not only increasing our presence in China, but we will also be increasing our presence in Asia,” said Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon.
Trade Minister Stockwell Day is planning a trade mission to Beijing designed to open doors to new trade and build on a $2-billion investment on the Asia-Pacific Gateway.
Liberal MP Bob Rae accused the Conservatives of failing to engage the emerging economic power because a “few ideological enthusiasts” are taking over Canada-China policy.
“Does the prime minister and the minister not realize how serious a mistake this is with respect to building that relationship?” he said.
And what does China say? It’s interesting to note from the following Xinhua reports that suddenly doing business with China is “the top foreign policy goal by the Conservative government”. So the almighty dollar doesnt’ matter any more?
Tags: Canada, Canada-China, China policy, Stephen Harper, TradeCanadian FM defends government policy on China
Xinhua - Canadian Foreign Minister Lawrence Cannon said Monday that his country’s relations with China were “not strained at all” while opposition Liberals called for repairing “the damage done by the government to the relationship.”
“Canada’s one-China policy has not been changed.” Cannon, who was appointed as foreign minister last October, told Xinhua Monday evening after delivering a speech on foreign policy in Rideau Club, a meeting center in the capital city Ottawa.
“I don’t view our relations as being strained at all, as a matter of fact I view them as being good and mature,” said Cannon when asked about his evaluation of the current Canada-China relations.
“We certainly feel that we need to better frame issues dealing with human rights,” he said. “Other than that I don’t see anything upsetting our relations.”
Earlier in the day, the opposition Liberal Party said the ruling Conservatives’ mismanagement of Canada-China relations was “hurting Canada’s economy.”
“Prime Minister Stephen Harper must reach out to China directly and try to repair the damage he and his government have done to this important diplomatic and economic relationship,” said Bob Rae, Foreign Affairs Critic of the party, in a press release.
Liberal International Trade Critic Scott Brison said that during the first two years of Conservative government (2006 and 2007), Canada’s exports to China “stagnated,” “barely keeping pace in proportion to China’s import growth.”
“In comparison, the United States increased its trade with China by 60 percent over those same years, far outpacing the growth of Chinese global imports and increasing their share of the Chinese market,” he said.
Last week, Harper’s former Foreign Affairs Minister David Emerson publicly called for Canada to “be more deeply engaged with China” and confirmed there were deep divisions within the Conservative government regarding how to deal with Beijing, according to the release.
However, in his speech, Cannon said Canada was committed to pursuing “enormous commercial opportunities” in China, and would open six new trade offices there to help Canadian companies.
The initiative, part of a broader Asian strategy, is a top foreign policy goal by the Conservative government, Cannon noted.
“We will be paying special attention to Asia’s emerging markets,” Cannon said. “Asia has emerged as a major driving force in the global economy.”
In his speech, Cannon also noted that the Harper administration gave its top priority to strengthening ties with the United States, Canada’s largest trading partner. The other issues included the ongoing war in Afghanistan, the pursuit of trade opportunities combined with fostering democracy in Latin America, and promoting Arctic sovereignty.
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[...] even said doing business with China is “the top foreign policy goal by the Conservative government”. This government has [...]