PM welcomes Chinese President Hu

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Good evening.  Nee how.  Thank you all for coming, former Prime Minister Jean Chrétien, ministers, Members of Parliament, distinguished guests.

Thank you, Minister Cannon, for your warm introduction.  And thank you for the incredible job you’ve been doing since you joined our team, and especially as Minister of Foreign Affairs.

And a special thank you to the Canada-China Business Council for hosting tonight’s dinner, at which we mark and celebrate this year’s 40th anniversary of formal diplomatic relations between our countries.  Let me also take this opportunity to tell you that the work you are doing to foster closer commercial relations between Canada and China is important, and appreciated.

President Hu, it is a great pleasure to welcome you back to Canada.  Laureen and I are pleased to have this opportunity to return your generous hospitality during our visit to China last December.  The fond memories of that visit remain fresh in our minds.  I know we will never forget our first steps along the Great Wall, and our tour of the Forbidden City: true wonders of the world.

Mr. President, the friendship tree you planted at Rideau Hall has been healthy and growing since your first visit to our country nearly five years ago.  It is a living and visible symbol of the goodwill between our two countries.

I am also delighted to report that the Canada Pavilion at Shanghai’s Expo 2010 has already hosted more than one million visitors.  Canada is lucky to have Mark Rowswell as our Expo Commissioner-General.  Mark is best known in China as TV star Dashan. 

The Governor General’s historic visit to China, only days after your visit here, Mr. President, is another reminder of the friendly and productive engagement between our two countries.

We have seen, for example, the decision to open a new Chinese Consulate General in Montreal; the opening of new Canadian trade offices across China; and the granting of Approved Destination Status for Canada.  All this should lead to increased travel by tourists, students and business people between our countries.

In December, in Beijing, President Hu and I witnessed agreements on climate change, mineral resources, culture and agricultural education. Today we have gone further, signing more agreements relating to increased bilateral cooperation on tourism, environmental protection, energy conservation and law enforcement.  Meanwhile, numerous agreements signed by Canadian and Chinese firms are examples of growing close commercial cooperation. 

I am particularly pleased to announce that China has granted staged access to Canadian beef.  This welcome announcement is extremely important to our industry.

On top of all that, Canadian and Chinese officials are now in discussions to facilitate the loan of a pair of giant pandas to be shared among Canadian zoos. 

The growing strategic partnership between China and Canada mirrors our burgeoning trade relations.  After years of healthy growth, China is now Canada’s second-largest merchandise trading partner. 

During my December visit, China’s stunning economic growth was everywhere apparent. But China, like Canada, cannot sustain itself in isolation.  China's economic engine needs fuel.  Resources to power and supply its factories; food to feed its workers.  Canada has an abundance of natural and agricultural resources to share with China.  Our Asia-Pacific Gateway will, in the years to come, be the fastest way to ship goods between North America and Asia.

Of course, while Canada is a global energy superpower, in a world concerned about climate change, we must also be a clean energy superpower.  That’s why our Government is investing in green energy technologies. 

Canadian technologies can help reduce environmental impacts associated with China's rapid growth. 

Even as we look to the future, however, there is still room to build on our longstanding trade relationships in other areas. 

Agriculture, for instance.  Almost a decade before our countries established formal diplomatic relations, in 1970, then-Prime Minister John Diefenbaker launched the so-called "icebreaker initiative" to supply Canadian grain to a China struggling to feed its people.  High quality Canadian agricultural products remain an important source of safe, nutritious food for Chinese consumers.  Canada is China's best option for canola.  We trust the recent decision to extend the interim agreement on seed imports is a prelude to fully reopening the Chinese market. 

In other words, Canada and China have complementary economies, and we have yet to realize the potential of our relationship.  The completion of a Foreign Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement would be a helpful step forward: It would give investors from both sides the clarity and confidence required for two way investment to continue to grow.

And China’s decision to enhance the flexibility of your exchange rate augers well for balance and stability, not just in our trade relations, but in the entire global economy.

Ladies and gentlemen, we will carry the momentum and goodwill generated by our bilateral agreements into the G20 Summit this weekend, where together we can demonstrate the wisdom of keeping our markets open and seeking new ways to expand trade.

I also look forward to working with President Hu as the G20 seeks a new consensus on regulation of the international financial sector.

Canada and China are both seeking larger leadership roles in the world.  Here too we can be effective strategic partners.

Canada believes that in today’s world, leadership flows increasingly not from a stockpile of arms but from a stockpile of economic power and from the stockpile of moral authority a nation builds up when it upholds the universal values of freedom, democracy, human rights and the rule of law.  China and Canada have begun a frank dialogue about these values.  Continuing it will bring us closer together as friends and strategic partners.

And it will strengthen our ability to work together in pursuit of global economic stability, a cleaner, safer environment, improved health and security in the developing world, and effective international action against terrorists and rogue states.

Ladies and gentlemen, as you know well, the most fervent supporters of closer Canada-China relations are the more than one million Canadians of Chinese descent.

Chinese-Canadians are the enduring bridge upon which our friendship has been built.

And through organizations like the Canada-China Business Council, they will help shape our destiny as partners and friends.

President Hu, thank you once again for accepting our invitation to visit Canada.  Our mutual respect grows with every encounter, as do our shared aspirations for stronger Canada-China relations in a better world.

Thank you.  Sheh-Sheh.

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