Ontario aims to boost China trade
Premier vows to form team to drum up business Province hopes to help local firms, lure investment
SHANGHAI— Premier Dalton McGuinty says that, upon his return to Ontario, he will form a special squad of bureaucrats whose job it will be to develop an expertise on trade with China. McGuinty told the Toronto Star yesterday he has learned quickly in recent days it is not enough to drop by every few years on a trade mission and expect to walk away with the spoils.
“ I have come to the conclusion already that the only way we are going to have any kind of success in China is to have a sustained effort over the long term and have a group inside (government) who are focused on developing linkages and assisting business,” he said.
“ The alternative is maybe in another year I do another trade mission. . . . You can’t do that, you have to be on it all the time,” said the premier, who is leading a125- member, 11- day trade mission to China, including Beijing, Shanghai, Nanjing and Hong Kong, with the sole purpose of trying to drum up two- way investment. McGuinty said this China team would be similar to the one he set up to go after auto business, noting that there has been $ 4.5 billion worth of auto investment in the province since the Liberals were elected more than two years ago.
“ We have to set up something permanent inside government just as I set up an auto group to go after auto business and bring a relentless drive to get that business . . . and it was very successful and I think it is a good model for us to adopt,” he said.
In 2004, Ontario exported $ 1.3 billion worth of goods to China and imported $ 12.2 billion, which illustrates the degree to which the province has fallen behind other districts wanting to do business with China, especially the United States.
Shortly after arriving in Shanghai, McGuinty signed a formal agreement launching the Shanghai- Toronto Institute for Health Research, a joint venture of the University Health Network, one of Toronto’s teaching hospitals, and the Shanghai Institute of Health Sciences. The purpose of the venture is to develop new drugs to fight cancer and other major diseases as well as find ways of preventing disease.
Shanghai is a centre for automotive partnerships concentrating on serving a market of 1.3 billion people, only 1 per cent of whom own a vehicle. While the bicycle is still king here, that is changing as disposable incomes rise. Economic Development and Trade Minister Joe Cordiano yesterday toured the Shanghai General Motors plant in the Pu Dong, a large industrialized area of this city of more than 12 million people.
“ The key thing here is that we formulate a strategy for China, so we have to position our auto parts manufacturers to locate here. Magna ( International) is already here and Linamar is setting up an operations but there are other smaller firms that should pursue that strategy as well,” Cordiano said. The minister said he has been struck by just how “ sophisticated” urban China is, and that there is a growing middle class clamouring to spend its money on cars.
“ You need a focused, targeted approach if you’re going to really be a presence in this marketplace. We cannot just be a one-off. You just can’t leave from this trip and expect that companies will come over as a result of this trip and do business in a more concerted way.” He reported there is only one person at the Canadian Consulate in China who is charged with promoting business for Ontario. “We are not going to make much of a dent if we only have one ( Ontario government) person stationed at the consulate. We are going to look at a strategy that deploys more resources.”