Business council sees deepening ties between China and Canada

Canada is expecting China to come out with more detailed policies to further reform and opening-up and promote international cooperation, a top business organization said.

In his speech to the recently concluded 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, General Secretary Xi Jinping said increased international engagements would help in the country's prosperity, according to Graham Shantz, president of the Canada China Business Council (CCBC). The CCBC is a nonprofit business association that helps its members to grow their businesses in China and Canada.

Shantz served for over 25 years in Canada's public service providing advice to Canadian governments, mainly on management of Canada's relations with Asia.

"We are optimistic that the concrete policies pursued by the government will boost bilateral ties between Canada and China and benefit our members from the two countries", he said.

China has been making efforts to reform and develop the global governance system and Xi emphasized a shared future for mankind in his keynote address.

As an expert who has studied China for almost 40 years, Shantz said that Xi's vision of the positive role, that China can play internationally, can be an important contribution to international relations.

He said that China's increased prosperity has led to greater trade and, importantly, to greater engagement by China internationally, from which all countries are benefiting.

Xi's speech outlines a positive and constructive role for China to play in the decades ahead and this could be very important to not just global prosperity, but major issues of global peace and security, he said.

As for Xi's pledge to develop a modernized economic system, Shantz said that the CCBC is looking forward to more steps in the next five years that will translate the Chinese leader's vision into initiatives.

"We expect the Chinese government to put in place mechanisms so that the country can deepen its engagements abroad," he said.

The key to China's remarkable economic development, he said, has been the reform and opening-up policy.

"It is my view that further success of the policy hinges on ever-deepening engagements with other countries. This includes deepening trade and investment links and people-to-people connections for China, globally, including with Canada," he said.