Background
- In 2006, The Canadian Chamber of Commerce released China and Canada: The Way Ahead, which called for the development of a Canadian strategy to enhance economic ties with China.
- In 2010, the Canadian Chamber will be releasing a follow-up report on Canada-China economic ties.
- Given the “new normal” global economic landscape and China’s ongoing emergence as a primary driver of global economic growth, with predictions that it may become the world’s second largest economy by 2011, we need to ask ourselves: what are the steps that must be taken in order to capitalize on this and expand Canada’s commercial and investment ties with China?
Report Highlights
- Enhancing Canada-China economic ties will require finding solutions – at the political and business levels – to the numerous issues both in China and at home that continue to hamper the development of trade and investment opportunities for Canadian business.
A non-exhaustive list of issues include: barriers and cooperation in bilateral trade and investment; gearing Canadian infrastructure to handle North America’s China trade; skills and immigration policies vis-à-vis China; financial services and insurance; intellectual property rights (IPR) protection; currency issues; tourism, as well as Canada’s image and position in China.
- The Chamber’s report will provide practical recommendations on policy changes that would resolve real obstacles for conducting business between China and Canada. The target audiences for the report are The Canadian Chamber of Commerce network; senior government officials, as well as the media.
Member Consultation
Member chambers of commerce and boards of trade are encouraged to consult with their respective members to help the Canadian Chamber develop its report.
Results of your member consultations should be sent to Mathias Hartpence at [email protected] by January 23, 2010.
To assist in these consultations, the Canadian Chamber has prepared some questions to help guide your discussions:
- How can we attract and benefit from China’s growing interest in investing in Canada? What can we do to increase Canadian investment in China?
- What can businesses and policymakers in Canada and China do to boost trade between our countries? What barriers to trade do Canadian businesses face in China, and what barriers do Chinese businesses face here?
- The Asia-Pacific Gateway is key to enhancing Canada’s economic relations with China and Asia. What more needs to be done on the gateways and other infrastructure to further facilitate trade and investment?
- What skills are needed for Canadian businesses to succeed in China? What needs to be done to develop those skills, or attract people with those skills, where they’re lacking?
- Shanghai and Hong Kong are set to become top-tier global financial hubs. What needs to be done to capture opportunities for our financial services industry in these growing markets?
- While China has made progress on IPR protection, results remain insufficient. What more needs to be done to ensure that the IPR of Canadian businesses are protected in
- China? What can Canadian companies do to mitigate IPR concerns?
- China recently granted Canada Approved Destination Status (ADS). With the rapidly growing number of Chinese tourists abroad, how can Canada better attract these tourists?
- In which areas and in what ways can boosting the Canadian presence and image in China help to enhance opportunities for small, medium and large companies doing business in China?
