- Title: CANADA: After U.S. oil snub, Canada now focused on China.
- Date: 7th February 2012
- Summary: BEIJING, CHINA (FILE - MAY 2010) (REUTERS) TIANANMEN SQUARE PORTRAIT OF MAO ZEDONG ON GATE OF HEAVENLY PEACE
- Embargoed: 22nd February 2012 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Canada, Canada
- Country: Canada
- Topics: International Relations,Economy,Politics
- Reuters ID: LVAEQYWSGJY2KUB348Y5T61SRSPA
- Story Text: Prime Minister Stephen Harper says Canada wants to expand economic ties with China, in the wake of the U.S. decision to block the Keystone oil pipeline project.
Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper boarded a plane to Beijing on Monday (February 6) in Canada's most important top-level trade mission to China in almost 15 years.
The purpose of the trip is "the deepening and furthering" of Canada's economic ties with China, Harper told Reuters in an interview.
"We've seen significant growth of trade and investment under our government," said Harper. "But obviously, given the state of the global economy and weakness in many of our traditional markets, expanding our footprint in Asia and in China in particular are high priorities for the government."
Harper said that Canada must focus on markets that are growing, regardless of the fate of the Keystone XL pipeline, which is proposed to carry crude from the Alberta oil sands to Texas refineries.
The U.S. State Department blocked Keystone last month, saying they didn't have time for a thorough environmental review.
"As much as I want to see that Keystone project proceed, I think this incident, and there are other economics involved obviously, but they all underscore the fact that it is in this country's national interest to be able to sell products beyond the United States and I don't think a reversal of an American decision can change that fundamental reality," Harper told Reuters in an interview. "So I think it is absolutely essential that we find ways of being able to sell our products to the biggest growing markets in the world, and those are in Asia."
Canada - the largest supplier of energy to the United States - was profoundly disappointed by Washington's decision to veto TransCanada Corp's Keystone project. The United States - by far Canada's largest trading partner - is unlikely to look again at the project until next year.
At 170 billion barrels, Canada's oil sands are the third-largest crude deposit in the world, and Canadian exports to bigger markets will be a focal point of Harper's meetings in China, where he will be accompanied by five cabinet ministers and the heads of major corporations seeking business.
China has already made clear it would like to import Canadian oil to help power its rapidly expanding economy.
China does not currently import Canadian crude. Enbridge Inc wants to build a pipeline from Alberta to the Pacific but it could take years to approve and complete the project.
China's international oil firms, taking a more long-term view, have spent or pledged to invest more than C$11 billion ($11.1 billion) in Canada's energy patch since 2005.
During his trip Harper will meet President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao as well as two important regional players - Chongqing Communist Party chief Bo Xilai and Wang Yang, the chief of Guangdong province.
The Canadian mission, which will arrive in Beijing on Tuesday, is the largest of its kind since 1998. Guests include top executives from Shell Canada, Enbridge, and Canadian Oil Sands as well as uranium producer Cameco Corp and mining firm Teck Resources Ltd.
The size of the delegation is another sign of how Harper's Conservatives have shifted position to embrace China. The Conservatives came to power in 2006 harboring suspicions about Beijing's human rights record.
Harper skipped the 2008 Beijing Olympics and did not travel to China until late 2009, when Wen admonished him publicly for taking so long to visit. Hu came to Canada the next year, when the two men set a target of boosting trade.
Harper denied the suggestion he had softened his tone on human rights over the years in the interest of boosting trade.
"There are obviously human rights and other specific consular cases that are of some significant concern to this government and we raise those things regularly, including in all of the appropriate leaders' meetings, and we will continue to do that," said Harper. "I obviously welcome the growth of the Chinese economy but I remain convinced as we've seen in our own history and around the world, that in the long term, economic and political progress are linked." - Copyright Holder: FILE REUTERS (CAN SELL)
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