China looking for "win-win" energy partnership with Canada

The Chinese appetite for energy and resources, and Canada’s abundance of those resources make for a “win-win” energy partnership, according to the Chinese ambassador to Canada, Zhang Junsai. “The two countries have every reason to forge a stable and win-win partnership in the long run in the field of resources,” he wrote in a statement for the Canadian Press just days before Prime Minister Harper embarks on a trade visit to China.

China invested $5 billion in Canada’s resource sector in the last year alone.

Prime Minister Harper is set to visit China in February. China is seen as the next great market for Canada’s resources, particularly with the uncertainty that continues to surround the Keystone XL pipeline to the United States. If the country cannot sell its oil to the US, the Chinese are more than willing to buy. And Harper is more than willing to sell. Noting that the prime minister will be taking a large group of business people on his upcoming trip to China, the ambassador noted an expectation that there will be several memorandums of agreement signed, and that this  will give investors in both countries a more stable and predictable policy framework to work within.

The ambassador also noted a number of “featured advantages” that Canada has in a number of industrial sectors, including advanced technology, environmental protection, clean energy, IT, aerospace, aviation and biopharmaceuticals.