Canada, China release study to boost economic ties

OTTAWA -- Canada's Minister of International Trade and Minister for the Asia-Pacific Gateway Ed Fast said in Ottawa on Wednesday that the country welcomes the release of the Canada-China Economic Complementarities Study.

The study, conducted with a view to exploring ways to deepen bilateral trade and economic relationship, was jointly released by Fast and his Chinese counterpart Chen Deming in Ottawa and Beijing the same day.

Fast said in a news release that the study highlights the potential to increase the prosperity of Canadians and Chinese alike through appropriate bilateral instruments.

"Increasing access for Canadian workers and businesses and deepening our country's economic ties in fast-growing markets like China are key parts of our government's pro-trade plan for jobs, growth and long-term prosperity," said Fast.

"We are carefully reviewing the information contained in the study and we are considering its findings," added the minister.

The study highlights the strong momentum and expansion in Canada-China trade and economic relations. It identifies a number of important complementarities and prospects for growth, while also pointing to the need to address certain challenges to fully take advantage of these complementarities.

The study concludes that the Canadian and Chinese governments should continue to deepen and strengthen bilateral trade and investment ties through appropriate bilateral instruments, to ensure that the two peoples can continue to build a prosperous and sustainable future.

China is currently Canada's second largest single-nation trading partner, and has been identified as a priority market under the Canadian government's Global Commerce Strategy.

The Canadian government believes that advancing bilateral trade and investment interests with China is key to the future prosperity of Canadians, according to an official release seen online.