Released:July 6, 2017
Project: Z - Canada-China Forum
How can Canada trade with the world’s second-biggest economy without getting burned or selling out its values? The first step is to have a serious national conversation about it, PPF President and CEO Edward Greenspon tells Newstalk770 in Calgary.
Is China a friend or a foe? That’s the question Danielle Smith, host at Calgary’s Newstalk770, had for Public Policy Forum president and CEO Ed Greenspon on her July 6 show. It’s a question many Canadians have. For Greenspon, co-chair of the new Consultative Forum on China, the answer lies in having a serious and balanced national conversation about how we can engage the Asian giant in a way that Canadians can accept. Because we simply can’t ignore it: China is already our second-biggest trading partner, it has the world’s second-largest economy, and it’s growing even faster than the United States’ economy. And Canada needs to diversify as its once-stable access to the American market becomes increasingly precarious. But it’s not easy: China is not a democracy, nor does it operate like Canada’s traditional free-trade partners.
“I think we need to know what our relationship is with China. What is in Canada’s interests?” Greenspon said. “Canada’s economy only grows if it trades, and Asia is the fastest-growing part of the world. What is our strategy?”
Reports
Diversification not Dependence: A Made-in-Canada China Strategy
Canada can truly diversify its trade and break its dependence on a single partner by pursuing a strategy built on sectoral trade agreements with China.
Articles
Canada-China Session 1: Setting the stage, public opinion trends, approaches to trade
Recap of the first meeting of PPF's Canada-China Forum includes presentations on public opinion by Bruce Anderson of Abacus Data and sectoral trade by Wendy Dobson of University of Toronto
Toward ‘eyes-open’ engagement with China
Members of the Public Policy Forum’s Canada-China forum seek a balanced approach to engagement with China that is economically beneficial and politically acceptable to Canadians
Events
Past Event
PPF Fall Dinner 2019 | Stuck in the Corner: The U.S.-China strategic rivalry and how Canada plays it
Canada already knows what it’s like to be caught between the wills of these two Great Powers. How do we manage their fraught relations? How do we cause the minimum damage to our economy and sovereignty, while standing up for what we believe is right? These are questions we will address with Dr. Graham Allison, one-time Assistant Secretary of Defense and founding dean of the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, at our annual Fall Dinner — Nov. 19 at the Shaw Centre in Ottawa.
News
CBC Analysis: NAFTA talks forced Canada to pick a side in U.S.-China trade war
"In signing on for NAFTA 2.0, Canada also joined the Trump administration's China agenda," writes CBC's Janyce McGregor in a CBC Analysis article. "When the Trudeau government agreed to a revised North American free trade deal, the Americans said Canada also agreed to something else: joining Donald Trump's trade war on China."
Tom Walkon at the Toronto Star: How Canada can break its dependence on the United States
In this opinion piece, Thomas Walkom tries to answer the question - How can Canada break its dependence on the United States? A question that has bedeviled both the left and the right since 1945. He writes that PPF's Report “Diversification not Dependence,” makes a compelling case for Canada to escape the “honey trap” of its reliance on the U.S. by moving quickly to boost both economic and political relations with China.
Business in Vancouver: Canada should turn to sector-specific deals with China in light of USMCA, report says
Business in Vancouver's Chuck Chiang writes about PPF latest report "Diversification Not Dependence: A Made-in-Canada China Strategy." The report says Canada should turn to sectoral agreements - that is, deals focusing on specific industries like agriculture and energy - in growing business links with China in light of the perceived “U.S. veto” clause in the new USMCA North American free-trade agreement.
Maclean’s Op-ed: How Canada can work on trade with China—without angering America
PPF's Edward Greenspon and the Vice-Chair of the BMO Financial Group Kevin Lynch share their opinion on Canada-China trade in this Maclean's op-ed. They discuss how the Canadian government must diversify its economy, and China is the obvious target. But that there are risks with such a partnership.
CBC: Canada can avoid offending U.S. by pursuing sectoral trade with China: report
Andy Blatchford writes that the authors of the PPF report "Diversification Not Dependence: A Made-in-Canada Strategy" argue that Canada can do more business with China 'in such a way that should not offend' the U.S. through a a surgical, sector-by-sector approach.
We need a China strategy, so let’s get it right
In this Globe and Mail op-ed, our Forum on China co-chairs argue that with rules-based trade down South on the fritz, it really is time to look elsewhere and that includes China.