Top 6 China-Canada Sub State Stories of 2015
With all the talk about the coming Canada-China free-trade deal (here, here and here), I wanted to demonstrate the growing irrelevance of all encompassing State-State preferential trade by highlighting the extent of China-Canada sub-state relations. Enjoy!
6) Cape Breton Enters Sister-City Deal with Dalian
China’s Dalian is home to a deep-water port and serves as a regional transshipment hub the likes of which Cape Breton’s Port of Sydney aspires to. According to mayor Cecil Clarke, the MOU paves the way for “expanded trade…[and] investment” and while there are no firm financial commitments, a $1 Billion investment from China Communications Construction Co. is expected following a feasibility study.
With over 2000 acres of un-developed green and brownfield land, Cape Breton’s Port of Sydney could certainly benefit from the partnership, and, bearing in mind the previously announced goal of a Shanghai-based DDI to invest upwards of $3 Billion into Nova Scotia, we’ll be watching this one play out for years to come.
5) Chinese SOE invests $100 Million in Niagara
With more than $2 Billion to invest “abroad,” where does CITIC Group, one of China’s largest State Owned Enterprises go first? As it turns out — Niagara Falls, Ontario! With $100 Million committed and the potential for more from “private Chinese investors,” the $1 Billion, 484- Acre mixed use development known as “Paradise” is set for completion in 2022.
4) Vancouver Chosen for Chinese Clean-Tech Innovation Centre
Given that China is the world’s single largest investor in sustainable energy technology (clean-tech), the announcement that Vancouver would house Canada’s first Chinese-funded clean-tech “incubator” is certainly laudable. Funded by a mix of Chinese SOEs in partnership with Simon Fraser University, the stated intent is to support entrepreneurial green-tech initiatives with global ambitions — good news for Vancouver-based start-ups.
3) 14 Ontario Universities Enhance Partnerships with China
The announcement that the Council of Ontario Universities would not only renew but expand their partnership with universities located in Jiangsu, China was noteworthy given the recent downturn in domestic post-secondary applications, but also because it marked 30 years of sub-state cooperation ranging from higher education to agri-food and clean-tech. Notably, McMaster University was among the signatories, which is fascinating considering that only a couple years ago they shut-down their Confucius Institute in wake of accusations of foreign interference.
2) British Columbia to get access China’s Panda Bond program
Building on the success of a series of Dim Sum bonds which successfully raised about $1 Billion in the two years prior, British Columbia continues to benefit from its special relationship with China in 2015 becoming one of the first foreign sub-national governments permitted to issue RMB denominated bonds in China. Raising approximately “3 billion renminbi (RMB), or $665 million” in the process,” BC’s success is no doubt the envy of cash-strapped Ontario.
1) 70% of Vancouver’s Detached Homes Sold to Mainland Chinese Buyers
While the flight of capital from China and the perpetual rise of Vancouver home values received numerous headlines in 2015, it wasn’t until Vancouver city planner Andy Yan published this study that one could begin to truly connect the nascent dots. And while the story continues to receive attention, to date, the wholesale purchase of homes by China’s wealthy elite remains a regulatory and policy blackhole. Witrnment of Canada refusing to curb purchases AND the continued promotion of Vancouver’s housing market throughout the Sinosphere as a financial safe-haven, this story has no immediate signs of dissipating.
