OTTAWA – Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird’s trip to China has members of Canada’s business and diplomatic community hoping the visit will boost our country’s trade relationship with one of the world’s fastest growing economies in a period of financial insecurity.
“We are living through the greatest transformation of global economic, political and security power of a century, and Canadians will want to position themselves successfully in that transformation and that means paying more attention to Asia in general, and China in particular,” said Peter Harder of the Canada China Business Council.
Baird is visiting China until Thursday in a trip meant to warm relationships between the two countries, especially as China continues to catapult to the preeminence among Canada’s trading partners.
Softwood lumber exported from B.C. to China surpassed that shipped to the United States for the first time ever, according to numbers released by the B.C. government on Monday. B.C. lumber shipments to China in May 2011 were valued at $122 million compared to the U.S. at $119 million.
China is Canada’s second-largest merchandise trading partner with exchanges valued at $57.7 billion in 2010, according to the Department of Foreign Affairs.
“Most Canadians will understand because of the transformation of the global economy that we are going through that China is a country of increasing importance,” Harder said. “Canadians understand, I believe, that relationships both trade and investment … are increasingly important.”
Harder said the timing and the context of the trip, along with Baird’s own enthusiasm, indicate that Canada is ready and committed to a long-term, regular relationship with China.
Future dividends
Baird’s trip won’t make a big impact in the short term, but will pay future dividends, said Yuen Pau Woo, president of the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada.
“The Chinese way of doing business is very much based on relationships and the establishment of good relations for business ties,” said Woo, adding that the Chinese government also owns many companies that Canada would benefit from trading with.
Moving forward with China will take more than just a visit from Canada’s foreign affairs minister, according to Harder.
The next steps, in his opinion, need to include a comprehensive trade agreement and follow through on the Canada-China Joint Statement signed by Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao.
The statement sets out the terms for the forward momentum of the bilateral relationship, including frequent visits between the leaders, a Strategic Working Group and regular visits between officials to discuss trade, investment, energy, environment, health and governance.
Rocky past
The statement marked a new beginning between the governments.
The Harper government has had a rocky past with China since coming into power in 2006 due to the Tories’ uncompromising criticism of human rights abuses in the country. The Tories also raised the ire of China by making the Dalai Lama an honourary citizen.
The past has Canada playing catch-up with China, according to Woo, because China has continued to move forward as an economic powerhouse.
Woo said Baird’s warm stance will go a long way to healing those wounds.
“His statements on the importance of China for Canada’s prosperity, his calibration for the human rights versus trade issue … are very positive signals that have taken the relationship to new heights in the last five years,” he said.
Even more optimistic for Woo is the attitudes of Canadians in general.
“It’s about bread and butter issues. It is about the mayor of Prince George saying his community depends on Chinese demand for lumber exports,” he said. “All of this is filtering up to the political class who see China not just as foreign policy issue or a human rights issue – but as an economic necessity.”
Still, he said, the economy doesn’t have to eclipse concerns about human rights and vice versa as Canadians and the Chinese move into a “mature relationship.”
“A mature friendship that has been developed over years has to take the good, the bad, and the ugly all wrapped in,” he said. “While it is possible that you could let one issue in the friendship jeopardize everything else, a mature friendship wouldn’t let it.”
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