Harper’s first day in China heavy on economic ties
Posted Nov 7, 2014 08:34:11 AM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
HANGZHOU, China – Prime Minister Stephen Harper has spent his first full day in China making efforts to drum up business for Canadian firms while taking in the sights and sounds of the booming city of Hangzhou.
Harper attended a China-Canada business meeting in the city’s downtown core where he thanked the Chinese for welcoming him.
A half-million Canadian jobs depend upon Canada-Chinese trade, Harper said, adding to laughter that while that number might not seem significant to the Chinese, it is to Canada.
Harper also announced that Canada will open new trade offices in Hangzhou, Xi’an, Xiamen and Tianjin, in some of China’s fastest growing regions.
The locations were selected because their needs match Canadian strengths, particularly in the areas of information technology, electronics, automotive, aerospace, medicine, energy and finance sectors.
Following his brief remarks, Harper took a stroll through a bustling open-air market in the city, making his way to a traditional medicine museum.
