Liberal Party: Liberals are working to realize Canada’s full potential with China
Following four years of Conservative disinterest in China, Liberals are meeting today to work on Canada’s long-term strategy for China.“China has the world’s third largest economy, the largest population and is growing at full speed,” said Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff. “In order to compete internationally and assert our voice in the Asia-Pacific region, Canada needs a comprehensive plan for engagement with China.”
“While the Asia-Pacific Gateway facilitates commerce with China, roads and ports alone do not create prosperity,” said Sukh Dhaliwal, Critic for the Asia-Pacific Gateway. “Our success also depends on strong diplomatic relations between both countries. The Government of Canada must build on our mutual interests, nurture mutual investment and manage our massive two-way flow of people to realize the full potential of our relationship.”
“Rather than building on the Liberal legacy of constructive Canadian engagement and reaching out to China on issues of mutual concern, Prime Minister Harper waited three years to make his first visit and has made no efforts towards sustained diplomatic and cultural exchanges ,” said the Honourable Bryon Wilfert, Special Advisor for the Asia-Pacific.
This inaction has created a negative impression of Canada within China, recently affirmed by a poll by GlobeScan and the BBC World Service which found that the proportion of Chinese citizens seeing Canada as a positive influence in the world fell from 75 percent to 54 percent in the last year.
Today’s roundtable aims to bring together experts on trade, education and diplomacy to re-assess our historic relationship and define a new comprehensive approach to Canada-China relations on the 40th anniversary of our diplomatic relations.
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Published on Monday, March 01, 2010
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