Scope for Canada to expand trade ties

By Ananth Krishnan  |   2008-11-17  |     NEWSPAPER EDITION

FOR Canada, one of the world's leaders in alternative energy, the current financial climate is unusually turning out to be an opportunity to expand its trade relationship with China.

Canada's trade with China has so far been reliant on the resource-rich country's exports of wood and a range of natural products. But at a time when the cost of natural resources is escalating and oil prices are unpredictable, the Chinese government's plan to expand the country's renewable energy sector is providing new windows of opportunity for Canadian companies.

As part of the 4-trillion-yuan (US$585-billion) stimulus plan announced on November 9, the Chinese government will invest some 188.5 billion yuan on energy projects. For Canada's many small and medium enterprises that specialize in alternate energy, this could mean a lot of potential business.

"Especially in the alternate energy sector, this crisis is actually turning out to provide many, many opportunities for Canadian companies," said Richard Choi, an executive director of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai (CanCham).

CanCham's present focus is to promote Canadian SMEs in China. Earlier this month, a delegation of Canadian businesses signed some 20 deals with the Chinese government and local businesses in Beijing. Many of the firms were SMEs that provided technical expertise in the renewable energy sector.

"The government here is committed to investigating renewable energy sources," said Mark Ceolin, chair of CanCham. "The delegation that just came through had a number of SMEs which have been doing alternate energy projects for a number of years, and it is good that they are getting their expertise recognized. We are getting more and more requests from Canadian companies to not only guide them to the right government agencies here in China, but also to local partners."

Renewable energy