Cuddly pandas symbolize something larger

Animals underline growing tourism and trade links to China, writes.

This year, spring weather arrives a little bit later than usual.

However, the five-year, long-awaited panda family of four moved into their cosily decorated new home in Calgary as scheduled.

In fact, this is the second time that the Chinese national treasures have been in Calgary, reviving a lot of happy memories from 1988, when the Calgary Zoo accommodated another two Chinese pandas for the first time.

As of now, only 58 pandas are residing outside of China. That is to say, Calgary has been blessed enough to score the second chance.

Thanks to Calgarians and Albertans who have devoted themselves to realizing this, the arrival of the panda family will for sure bring some “wow” moments to the city, help Calgary and Alberta be in a better position to attract more Chinese tourists in the China-Canada Year of Tourism, and add colours to the open and diversified local economic and cultural landscape.

The China-Canada Year of Tourism was jointly announced in 2016 by both countries to encourage people coming and going to better understand each other, and to boost tourism on both sides.

According to Travel Alberta, 135,000 Chinese travellers toured Alberta in 2016, contributing $136 million to provincial economic growth. This year, the volume of Chinese tourists is expected to top more than 200,000, driven by both the ChinaCanada Year of Tourism and the giant pandas settling in. It is going to be a brand new record.

When tourism is booming, here comes the upgrading of infrastructure, transportation, telecommunication, trade, services, entertainment and more.

Jobs will be created and revenue will pour in. And above all, it is green and mutually beneficial.

Neither do you have to look at the face of your in-favourof-environment neighbours simply because you cannot achieve your goal without them.

Nor do you have to be worried about the road being blocked by frightening and escalating tariff rates, for which it is the public, who at the end of the day, pays the bill.

It is sometimes hard to understand how people can treat pandas nicely, making a good example of working together to pull the species from extinct to the vulnerable level, but they cannot, unfortunately, treat their own kind in the same way.

China and Canada’s collaboration on tourism speaks very loudly about their joint efforts against protectionism, and that it is more than verbal promises.

Their actions, taken in the aspect of people-to-people exchanges, are more like opening a door on the impenetrable wall built by wheelerdealers.

While many foreign companies are shaking their positions over the local reputation of being a good place to invest, and leaving, pandas Da Mao, Er Shun and their made-in-Canada twins came right on time with spring in hope and confidence. So did those Chinese enterprises who choose to stay.