Monday, February 25, 2013

China Beats out Britain as Canada's 2nd Trade Partner

China beats out Britain as Canada’s No. 2 trade partner (Abridged)

BARRIE McKENNA AND RICHARD BLACKWELL

OTTAWA and TORONTO — The Globe and Mail

Published Wednesday, Feb. 20 2013, 7:00 PM EST

Last updated Thursday, Feb. 21 2013, 8:36 AM EST


The Chinese Ministry of Lands and Resources booth at the 2012 PDAC (Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada) conference in Toronto. (Fred Lum/The Globe and Mail)

China has surpassed Britain as Canada’s No. 2 export destination, a milestone in the inevitable shift from the stagnant Old World to faster-growing emerging markets. Canadian goods exports to China surged 15 per cent last year to $19.3 billion, paced by a near-doubling of canola seed and canola oil shipments, according to newly tabulated government trade figures.


It’s a case of “China meets Saskatchewan,” Dan Ciuriak, former deputy chief economist at the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, said of the numbers showing China topping Britain for the first time. Exports to Britain fell nearly 1 per cent to $18.6-billion.



Canada isn’t alone in being touched by China, which surpassed the United States as the world’s largest goods trading nation in 2012. The U.S. still does more overall trade if services are included. Canada’s exports to China have nearly doubled between 2008 and 2012, a period in which the country’s overall exports fell nearly 1 per cent. Canadian exports to China of bulk commodities such as coal and iron ore were also up sharply last year. China’s economy has been growing at 10 per cent a year for most of the past decade and is hungry for the resources that Canada has in abundance. Europe, on the other hand, has been stagnant for the past four years, with some countries in a deep recession.



China is particularly attractive for firms that sell high-technology products and services because the country is going through a massive shift from a rural-based economy to an urban one. China looks favorably on Canada as a supplier because of its reputation for innovative and creative technology, the multicultural nature of its work force, its lack of political “baggage,” and – still – the fact that Dr. Norman Bethune was Canadian. But getting a foothold in the Chinese market takes time and patience. Once that trust is established, a company can move “incredibly fast.” Canada has a large tech sector, with exports of nearly $30-billion a year worth of information technology, but relatively little of it goes to China.



There is a huge market for luxury goods in China, and even small Canadian companies can do well if they can focus on “super premium” products, Mr. Slingerland said. Indeed, Pillitteri went to China after it noticed that Chinese customers were the biggest buyers of premium products at its Canadian retail outlets.



There are still many hurdles in China, Mr. Slingerland pointed out, including counterfeit products, something his company had to deal with. It is also crucial to do thorough due diligence about customers when they are half way around the world, he said. Canada’s trade with China is destined to increase both because the country is growing so fast and because the countries’ main products complement each other and they are very natural trading partners.



中国击败英国成为加拿大第2大贸易伙伴(节选)



芭尼. 麦吉娜和理查德. 布莱克维尔

- 渥太华和多伦多环球邮报

2013年2月20日周三美国东部时间下午7:00发布

最新更新时间:2013年2月21日美国东部时间8:36 AM

中国已经超过英国成为加拿大第2大出口目的地,从而不可避免地开创了由停滞不前的旧世界转向快速增长的新兴市场这一里程碑。根据新的政府贸易数字,去年加拿大商品对中国出口增长了15%,达到19.3亿美元,油菜籽和菜籽油的出口量增长近一倍。


在对英国的出口下降了近1%至18.6亿美元、显示中国首次超过英国后,丹. 丘拉克,外交和国际贸易部部原副首席经济学家说,这是一个中国与萨斯喀彻温省相会的情况。


加拿大不是唯一对中国有感触的国家,这使得中国在2012年超过美国,成为世界上最大的商品贸易国家,虽然如果包括服务美国在全面贸易上仍然领先。加拿大对中国的出口在2008年和2012年间几乎翻了一倍,而在同一个时期,国家的整体出口下跌近1%。去年加拿大向中国出口的煤炭和铁矿石等大宗商品也大幅上升。过去10年里,中国的经济增长速度在每年在10%,从而急需要加拿大丰富的资源。 另一方面,欧洲过去的四年里一直停滞不前,一些国家甚至发生严重的经济衰退。


中国对于出售高科技产品和服务的公司特别有吸引力,因为该国正在经历一个巨大的转变,由以农村为基础的经济转向以城市为基础的经济。因为它的创新科技,其工作力量的多元文化性,缺乏政治上的“包袱” ,以及诺尔曼. 白求恩是加拿大人的事实,中国期待加拿大成为它的供应商。但是,要在中国市场获得立足之地,需要时间和耐心。一旦这种信任建立起来,公司将可以“快得令人难以置信地”向前发展。加拿大有一个大的高科技产业,每年出口近30亿美元价值的信息技术,但相对较少去中国。


中国有一个巨大的奢侈品市场,如果着眼于“超级优质”的产品,即使是小规模的加拿大公司也可以做地很好,斯林格伦德先生说。事实上,Pillitteri来到中国后,发现中国客户是其优质加拿大的零售网点产品的最大买家。


在中国还有很多的障碍,斯林格伦德先生指出,包括假冒伪劣产品,而他的公司必须要处理这些问题。他说,做彻底的尽职调查以便了解半个地球以外的客户,也是至关重要的。加拿大与中国的贸易注定要增加,这是因为该国发展如此之快,这些国家的主要产品相得益彰,他们是很自然的贸易伙伴。

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