Edmonton Journal
Wenran Jiang, director of the University of Alberta's new China Institute, questions Stephen Harper's actions of restricting certain kinds of foreign investment, including China's state-owned enterprises. Jiang says Harper is making a mistake and his aggressive strategy won't help Canadian businesses trying to get into China.
New U of A institute at the forefront of strengthening our link with China
Cecile Mactaggart tore a strip off the Klein government at the opening of the new China Institute at the University of Alberta last month.
The Klein government hadnt kept its promise of a donation to the new centre at the University of Alberta. After a year and a half, the Edmonton philanthropist asked: where was the money
Nineteen months have passed ... without any monies. not even one dime of government money into the coffers of our China Institute. How would you feel if you were me
Someone else might be attracting the best and the brightest, if Alberta doesnt get moving, said Mactaggart, giving the government the tongue lashing it deserves.
The Mactaggart gave Edmonton a huge opportunity by setting up the institute here and donating their $37 million collection of art and textiles. This is the only institute of its kind in the country, focused solely on China, and it will play a significant role shaping Canadas relations with the worlds emerging economic powerhouse a trade relationship that some day may be more important than the one with the United States.
Its a very enviable position for Edmonton and the U of A. The province finally figured that our too few days later and came up with $12 million.
Now there is work to be done with Stephen Harper. Last month, he abruptly reversed Canadas long-standing policy of engagement with China and put relations in the deep freeze in his visit to Asia.
Harper rebuked China for its poor human rights record in his meeting with Chinese President Hu Jintao at the Asia Pacific Economic Co-operation summit.
Last week, Harper took another step that will dampen Chinas interest in Canada. Harper talked about putting restriction on certain kinds of foreign investment. Hes certainly not talking about all the American investment that is fuelling the oilsands boom.
Hes talking about Chinas state-owned enterprises which have non-commercial objectives and unclear corporate governance and reporting may not be beneficial to Canadians, according to Finance Minister Jim Flahertys economic plan.
How odd to hear a Conservative finance minister talking about the need to protect Canada assets from foreign investment. Doesnt that have Liberal, nationalist overtones
Wenran Jiang, the energetic director of the China Institute, says Harper in making a mistake and his aggressive strategy wont help the Canadian business trying to get into China.
Also, Harpers sudden concerns over Chinese investment in Canada reflect a double standard. Nobody worried when a Brazilian company took over longtime Canadian nickel giant Inco, notes Jiang. Harper appears to be playing on those old fears that China is taking over and that just doesnt fit the facts.
China doesnt want to manage companies here, he says, it wants a turn-key operation. That means it wants to leave the running of the companies to Canadians. Chinas state-owned corporations also need time to transition to the private market model, he says. Want to know why Canada needs strong ties with China
Consider this one for starters. About 80 to 90 per cent of our exports go south of the border. That free trade relationship with the U.S. makes us very prosperous.
But China is now in the U.S. market in a big way and the volume of Chinese trade in the U.S. will soon be bigger than with Canada, says Jiang. In other words, were going to lose market share with our biggest partner.
So its in our national interest to actively engage with China, and to diversify our own export markets. Sooner or later, China will be building the cars now built in Ontario, too, says Jiang.
China has just a tiny foothold in the oilsands, as a partner with a $150-million stake in the Northern Light project. It is a major partner in the proposed Enbridge pipeline to take Alberta bitumen to Kitimat on the B.C. coast.
But this is a tiny fraction of foreign investment in the oilpatch, so why are we raising the alarm bells, asks Jiang.
Harpers policy shift also threatens to undermine. Albertas long-standing ties with China, going back to the Loughheed days. There are oil and gas connections. And the city, too. Mayor Stephen Mandel just returned last month from our sister city, Harbin, in northern Heilongjing province, which itself is twinned with Alberta. Mandel was checking out the lucrative market for Edmontons expertise in municipal water systems.
Jiang grew up in Harbin, so he knows the extent of the market thats there for enterprising Canadians.
We need to be there competing. If we are not actively engaged with China, we are disengaged, he says.
Doing business with China is complicated. There are serious human rights issues in the country that need to be addressed, including the imprisonment of Canadian citizen, Huseyin Celil though a more sophisticated approach will likely work better than Harpers strategy. China turns a blind eye to some of the worse dictatorships in the world, such as Sudan, where Chinas payments for oil prop up the government behind the killings in Darfur.
But just 18 months away, China will front and centre when it hosts the 2008 summer Olympics. Is this the time to start cooling relations
The scholars who will start arriving at the China Institute have a lot of work to do