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The Co-Chairs of the Canada-China Legislative Association (CCLA), the Honourable Joseph A. Day, Senator, and Mr. Daryl Kramp, M.P. conducted the CCLA annual Co-Chairs visit to China from March 11 to 19, 2011. During this time the Co-Chairs had the opportunity to visit Beijing, Chongqing, Kunming and Dali. While in Beijing, the Co-Chairs met with their counterparts in the Chinese Branch of the CCLA. The Co-Chairs were accompanied by Ms. Elizabeth Kingston, Executive Secretary to the CCLA.
Objectives: The objectives of the visit were:
·to continue the renewal and reinvigoration of the CCLA relationship following the 14th Bilateral Meeting of October 2010; ·to apprise the Chinese of the political situation in Canada; ·to learn more about Chinese-Canadian business, cultural and political links, and to promote enhanced cooperation at all these levels; ·to discuss the objectives and parameters for the 15th Bilateral Meeting scheduled to take place in China in the Fall of 2011; ·to follow up on the tremendous success of the celebration of the 40th Anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Canada and China; and ·to promote friendship and the normalization of regular opportunities for dialogue with Chinese counterparts.
Beijing:
The delegation arrived in Beijing shortly after the closing of the Forth Annual Session of the Eleventh National People’s Congress, where the 12th Five Year Plan was approved. Premier Wen Jiabao delivered the final address, stating that meeting the economic growth target of an average of 7% in China over the next five years will not be an easy task. China still needs to resolve long-standing problems in an economy that lacks balance, coordination and sustainability, including the disparities between rural and urban areas, investment against corruption as well as the widening wealth gap. There is also a growing concern over the environmental impact of a resource-fuelled economy. China is at a point whereby it needs to strike the right balance between growth, jobs and inflation to avoid an economic recession while reducing pressure from rising costs. The livelihood of people will continue to be improved through holding down inflation, increasing affordable housing and raising the income of farmers. Other measures to improve peoples’ living standards include an increase in the minimum purchase prices of grain from farmers. Farmers may also benefit from expanded access to job opportunities in the cities. Premier Wen stated that through efforts such as these, the Chinese economy has been one of the first in the world to recover from the world-wide economic recession, while avoiding setbacks in China’s own economic development.
Chongqing: The delegation visited the Dazu Rock Carvings, a series of Chinese religious sculptures and carvings, dating back as far as the 7th century AD, depicting and influenced by Buddhist, Confucian and Taoist beliefs. Listed as a World Heritage Site, the Dazu Rock Carvings are made up of 75 protected sites containing some 50,000 statues, with over 100,000 Chinese characters forming inscriptions and epigraphs. The sites are located in Chongqing Municipality within the steep hillsides throughout Dazu County, located about 60 kilometers west of the urban area of Chongqing. The delegation then held a briefing session with the Consulate prior to meeting with the Vice-Chairman of the Standing Committee of the Chongqing Municipal People’s Congress. Chongqing is a major city in Southwest China and one of the five national central cities of the People's Republic of China. Administratively, it is one of the PRC's four direct-controlled municipalities (the other three are Beijing, Shanghai and Tianjin), and the only such municipality in inland China. The city is one of the cities notable for history and culture in China and serves as the economic centre of the Upstream Yangtze area, a modern manufacturing centre and a transportation hub for Southwest China. The municipality was created on 14 March 1997, succeeding the sub-provincial city administration that was part of Sichuan Province. In 2007, the municipality of Chongqing had a population of 31.4 million. It has jurisdiction over 19 districts, 17 counties, and four autonomous counties. It is the largest direct-controlled municipality, larger even than one province and an autonomous region. It may in fact be considered the world's largest municipality by population and certainly one of the largest by area. It is indeed an economic powerhouse, with an annual gross domestic product (GDP) of 17%. At the centre of the changing economy in China, Chongqing benefits from the trends in China of a shift from a rural to urban, from export-oriented to domestic consumption and in value chains. It is also in the forefront in China of sustainable development policies, categorized by the 5 Chongqing initiative of promoting the area as such: livable, healthy, eco-friendly, convenient and accessible and safe. Chongqing was the site of Canada’s first embassy in China in 1945, and has had Consulate presence since 1998. Presently, the Consulate is staffed by 2 Canadian-based officers and 9 local staff. Chongqing has entered into a sister city relationship with Toronto, and a friendship relationship with Edmonton and Waterloo. Moreover, it is interesting to note that 54% of all Canadian exports to China between January 2010 and January 2011 were focused in the Chongqing region. Educational exchanges are booming, with Wilfrid Laurier University housing an office in Chongqing. It boasts particular significant investment in the automotive, including automotive parts and information technology sectors, realizing a USD 3 billion investment from Hewlett Packard to develop Chongqing as the laptop manufacturing hub of China. The Co-Chairs also had the opportunity to visit the Maple Leaf International School in Chongqing. The school is part of a developing series of schools in China, offering educational programs that provide a unique blend of eastern and western curriculums. Presently, the school houses 100 students, with the number expected to rise. The school in Chongqing offers programs certified by British Columbia’s Ministry of Education, and prepares graduating students for entrance to an impressive number of universities throughout the world. Meeting with the Vice-Chairman of the Chongqing Municipal People’s Congress: The vice-chairman expressed his appreciation for Canada’s investment in the Chongqing municipality, with over 100 Canadian companies exercising a significant presence, especially in the areas of automobile component parts, environment and high tech. Companies developing a significant presence in the region include Magna International, the Ford Motor Company and Hewlett Packard. Overall, the region has been graced with an investment of USD 5 billion, ranked first in the western part of China. Yunnan Province – Dali, Kunming: The Co-Chairs travelled to Yunnan Province, firstly to Dali, then to Kunming. Yunnan province is located in the far southwest of the country, with a population of 45.7 million (2009). The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders Burma, Laos, and Vietnam. Most of the population lives in the eastern part of the province. As with other parts of China's southwest, Japanese occupation in the north during World War II forced a migration of majority Han people into the region. Ethnic minorities in Yunnan account for about 34 percent of its total population. Major ethnic groups include Yi, Bai, Hani, Zhuang, Dai and Miao. The Co-Chairs visited the Baichang Shaonong Hope School in Xiangyun County. Offering a full education to children in a rural area of Yunnan Province, the Hope School is a poverty alleviation project launched by the government and funded by two parliamentarians from the Macau region. They also visited a poverty alleviation project in Huanglian village in Hedian County. Visits in Yunnan province also included a tour of Erhai Lake near the city of Dali.
It is significant as it is the seventh largest freshwater lake in the country. Moreover, the lake is an important food source for the local Bai people. While in Dali, the Co-Chairs also visited the famous Three Pagodas of Chong Sheng Temple, well known for their significance on the landscape and resilience, having endured several man-made and natural disasters, including an earthquake for over a thousand years.
In Kunming, the Co-Chairs had the opportunity to visit the famous Stone Forest, a remarkable series of dissolved limestone rock formations. These rocks seem to emanate from the ground in a similar fashion as that of stalagmites, with many resembling petrified trees, hence the name Stone Forest. It had been declared a World Heritage Site. Meeting with the Vice-Chairman of the Yunnan Provincial People’s Congress: The Vice-Chairman provided the Co-Chairs with a comprehensive overview of Yunnan Province, stating that it covers the southern border of China, occupying overall 394,000 square kilometers. It has a population of 45.7 million people, and includes 16 prefectures and municipalities, as well as 129 counties and city districts. The GDP is 700 Billion RMB, or one-tenth of that of Canada. Yunnan is significant in its geographic location, bordering on Laos, Vietnam and Burma, thereby making it an important portal for China to southern Asia. It also is home to 26 ethnic groups, with 25 of such being minority groups, and a well-established population, with most people having lived in the province for generations. It has an abundance of natural resources, including hydro power and forestry. It is also the primary exporter of flowers to other parts of China as well as Japan, Singapore and other ASEAN countries. Yunnan also grows a significant amount of tobacco, with one-fourth of all tobacco in China emanating the province. Tobacco in fact, accounts for 50% of its total revenue. Tourism also plays a significant role in enhancing its revenue, accounting for USD 1.3 Billion. The Co-Chairs expressed the significance of Yunnan province in terms of future exchanges and business opportunities, especially given the similarities of being a natural resource based economy, noting in particular the areas of hydro-electricity, forestry, and agriculture. They also stressed the importance of environmental tourism within the Province. Conclusion: This visit to China was an excellent opportunity for the Co-Chairs of the CCLA to expand further their knowledge of and contacts in China and to conduct essential research for the upcoming 15th bilateral visit to China, scheduled to take place in the Fall of 2011. Moreover, it offered the opportunity to strengthen, reinforce and reinvigorate the already robust relationship that exists between Canada and China as fostered through visits of this kind by the CCLA. A summary of the travel costs is appended to this report.
Respectfully submitted,
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