China trip helped trade efforts: Moe
Having returned from a recent trade mission to China, Premier Scott Moe deemed the trip “productive.”
Moe said the trip was productive specifically in “advancing Saskatchewan’s trade efforts with a number of organizations and businesses in that country.”
No trade deal was signed as a result of the week-long voyage that saw Moe and a Saskatchewan delegation make stops in Beijing and the Heilongjiang province.
But Moe said the trip allowed him and the delegates to advocate on behalf of Saskatchewan products.
He noted China is the province’s second-largest trading partner behind the United States, and is a “growing market for us.”
Meetings with state-owned enterprises and the central Chinese government allowed Moe to advance trade and investment initiatives, he said.
Moe deemed the trip a success, considering there is a lot of uncertainty in global trade right now.
Topping that list of uncertainties is the future of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).
The Trump administration is planning to present Congress with text of a U.s.-mexico trade agreement, announced last month and excluding Canada, to revise portions of the agreement.
“The uncertainty of NAFTA is concerning. (The United States) are our largest trading partner and will continue to be our largest trading partner, so we’ve been down to the U.S.A. three times to advocate on behalf of the relationship we have, the positive trade relationship we have with the U.S.,” said Moe, who stressed the China trip was not scheduled in light of where NAFTA discussions are, but because the Chinese-saskatchewan trade relationship is of “growing importance.”
“It’s indicative of the importance of all of our trading partners around the world,” he said.
Moe said government advocacy is important to show the province is working hand-in-hand with industry on the expansion and to ensure there are open markets for the free flow of goods into China.
A particular focus of the trip was on Saskatchewan’s value-added agriculture sector. Saskatchewan is continuing to encourage investment in that sector abroad while promoting its expansion locally.
More than 20 Saskatchewan companies joined Moe’s delegation on the trip, including representatives from Canpotex, Mosaic and Cameco.
China is quickly producing nuclear energy, making it a critical market for Cameco.
The closest thing to a firm agreement out of the trip came in the form of a memorandum of understanding between the Reginabased Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) Knowledge Centre and the China Petroleum University, “to advance our shared interest in using CCS for enhanced oil recovery.”
Moe, who during his leadership campaign ran on a platform that included promoting Saskatchewan exports, is expected to be in the United States and India promoting trade before the end of 2018.