Canada’s small business minister Mary Ng visits CCG to discuss China-Canada relations
July 04 , 2019Last week, Mary Ng, Canada’s minister for Small Business and Export Promotion, attended
the World Economic Forum in Dalian, China. She is the first Canadian minister to visits to China since tensions have clouded relations between China and Canada in the past few months.
On July 4th, Ms. Ng and a Canadian delegation paid a visit to the Center of China and Globalization（CCG）headquarters in Beijing and joined in a roundtable discussion with CCG experts on a variety of topics, covering how China and Canada deal with the growing tensions, bilateral relations and further cooperation.
China and Canada should strengthen exchange and cooperation to ease tensions
CCG President Dr. Wang Huiyao extended a warm welcome to Ng and the Canadian delegation and noted the deep history of Sino-Canadian friendship.
Wang pointed out that bilateral trade has grown rapidly over the past decades and that ties between China and Canada are strong enough to withstand current challenges.
Wang added that China and Canada should work together to enhance exchange and foster cooperation to get over current difficulties in China-Canada relations. For example, study abroad and tourism are seen as important fields to strengthen ties between the two countries.
It has been officially announced that Canada will ban single-use plastics as early as 2021 in a bid to reduce ocean waste. Therefore, Wang suggested that China and Canada could work together to protect the environment, including fighting against climate change and plastic pollution.
“A high mountain can upstand winds and storms”
In her remarks, Mary Ng expressed gratitude for the opportunity to visit CCG and exchange
ideas with CCG experts.
She said that it is essential for the two countries to continue dialogue as China-Canada relations have experienced twists and turns in recent years. She expected that the two countries would have more opportunities for exchange in the future.
“A high mountain can upstand winds and storms” said Ng, quoting a Chinese proverb to
describe the relationship between Canada and China.
She agreed with Wang that China and Canada should strengthen communication and cooperation to cope with the tensions and pointed out that expanding collaboration would be
a better way for two countries to serve common interests of both sides.
In addition, the Canadian delegation and CCG experts discussed issues such as the China-Canada economic relationship, the multilateral trading system and further China-Canada
cooperation.
Ng was accompanied by Sen. Peter Harder, senator and government representative in the Senate of Canada, former president of the Canada-China Business Council and Jim Nickel, chargé d affaires at Embassy of Canada to China.
The Canadian delegation also included Frances McRae, assistant deputy minister for Small Business at the Department of Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada; Dave Murphy, minister (Commercial) at Embassy of Canada to China; Noah Fraser, managing director at Canada China Business Council (CCBC); Jason Easton, chief of staff at Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED); Arthur Lam, senior advisor at Innovation, ISED.
CCG experts who participated in the discussions included Jiang Shan, senior fellow of CCG, former director-general of MOFCOM Department of American and Oceanic Affairs; Sun Jie, senior fellow of CCG, former director of Fund Management at China Securities Regulatory Commission, former chairman of Asset Management Association of China; Xu Hongcai, nonresident senior fellow of CCG; deputy director of Economic Policy Commission, China Association of Policy Science; Zuo Chuanchang, research fellow, Institute of Economic Research, China Academy of Macro-economic Research at the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) ; Victor Gao, vice president of CCG; Miao Lu, vice president and secretary general of CCG; Liu Yu, deputy secretary general of CCG; Ann Tang, deputy secretary
general of CCG.
