Alberta companies sign agreements with Chinese partners in Shanghai

Companies and institutions from the Canadian province of Alberta signed business agreements with domestic companies during a seminar held in Shanghai on Thursday.

The agreements include a joint venture between Nelson Soil Remediation and Suzhou Niersen Environmental and Ecological Technology Co. A memorandum of understanding was also signed between NorQuest College and Shanghai Redleaf Women’s and Children’s Hospital.

Other signed projects cover areas like health as well as information and communications technology, according to a statement the government of Alberta sent to the Global Times on Thursday.

The Shanghai seminar is one stop for a government- led business delegation from Alberta, which will attend business seminars in other cities such as Shenzhen and Guangzhou, South China’s Guangdong Province, from Monday to December 3.

Minister of Economic Development and Trade in Alberta Deron Bilous said that because Alberta is an export- driven province, it needs trading partners. He said the delegation is not just in China to sell products made in Alberta. Instead, the trip is a “mutually beneficial” endeavor as Chinese businesses are looking to invest in Alberta and vice versa.

“I think our relations moving forward are very positive,” he told the Global Times on Thursday.

According to Bilous, bilateral investment and trade have increased during the past five years, and there are significant opportunities to continue to increase those numbers. He didn’t disclose exact figures.

In 2015, China was Alberta’s secondlargest trading partner and the province’s trade with China increased by 16 percent in the year, according to the statement.

Bilous also noted that conversations are “taking place” between Canada and China for future opportunities, “whether that’s a free trade agreement, or looking at how governments can make trade and business easier between the two jurisdictions.”

The governments of China and Canada decided in September to start talks on a free trade agreement, according to a statement by China’s National Development and Reform Commission on September 30.

Bilous said that he can’t speculate on what the agreement will look like.