Canada PM woos China to boost trade
Trudeau will visit Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Hangzhou during his 10-day visit
Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is heading for his first official visit to China, seeking to reset relations and boost economic ties with Canada’s secondlargest trading partner.
Trudeau was to depart Monday on a 10-day trip to Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Hangzhou, where he’ll attend the Group of 20 (G20) summit. He’ll meet with Premier Li Keqiang, Alibaba Group Holding’s Jack Ma and Hong Kong billionaire Li KaShing, controlling shareholder in Calgary-based Husky Energy Inc.
It’s a good time to be out of the country. While the prime minister is away, Statistics Canada is expected to report the economy shrank 1.5 per cent in the second quarter. All the more reason for Trudeau to tackle issues such as the decline of Chinese investment in Canada’s energy sector.
“What actually we need with China is to reset the relationship a little bit,” Trudeau told reporters Friday, the same day his predecessor, Stephen Harper, announced he was resigning from politics.
It was Harper in 2012 who introduced rules restricting takeovers in the oil sands by state-owned companies. The measures were designed to prevent foreign governments from gaining too much influence over Canadian oil.
Since reaching a record $21.3 billion that year, including CNOOC Ltd. ’s $15.1 billion acquisition of Nexen Inc., Chinese investments in Canada’s oil and gas sector have cooled to $2.19 billion this year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Purchases slumped to $343 million in 2013, the year after Harper imposed the new rules.
Finance Minister Bill Morneau, who will accompany Trudeau on the trip, hinted on August 21 the government was open to easing the 2012 restrictions.