Report

At the invitation of the China-Canada Legislative Association (China), a Canadian parliamentary delegation, led by the Co-Chairs of the Canada-China Legislative Association, the Honourable Donald Neil Plett, Senator, and Ms. Wai Young, M.P., visited the People’s Republic of China from November 9 to 17, 2013. The delegation participated in the 17^th Bilateral Consultations between the two Legislative Associations.

The delegation consisted of the following parliamentarians: the Honourable Donald Neil Plett, Senator, Co-Chair of the Canada-China Legislative Association, Ms. Wai Young, M.P., Co-Chair of the Canada-China Legislative Association, the Honourable Lawrence A. MacAulay, P.C., M.P., the Honourable Jim Munson, Senator, the Honourable Victor Oh, Senator, Ms. Chris Charlton, M.P., Ms. Olivia Chow, M.P., Mr. Pierre Lemieux, M.P. and Ms. Joyce Bateman, M.P. The delegation, accompanied by Mr. Michel Marcotte, Association Secretary, visited Hong Kong, Beijing, and Shanghai.

Hong Kong

On Sunday, November 10, the delegation attended the Hong Kong Ex-Servicemen Association’s Remembrance Ceremony at the Cenotaph on Statue Square. The Co-Chairs laid a wreath on the Cenotaph, and the delegation attended a luncheon at the Hong Kong Club with veterans and later visited the Sai Wan War Cemetery, where they performed a private remembrance ceremony.

On Monday, November 11, the delegation had a roundtable discussion with representatives of the Canadian Business Community in Hong Kong and met members of the Hong Kong Legislative Council: Mr. Jasper Tsang, President of the LegCo, Mr. Lee Cheuk-yan, Chairperson of the Labour Party, and Mr. Abraham Shek, Member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong from the Real Estate and Construction Functional Constituency. The delegation also met Mr. Martin Lee, Founder of the Democratic Party.

Beijing -— Bilateral Consultations

The 17^th Bilateral Consultations were held in the Great Hall of the People and chaired by Mr. CHI Wanchun. The Chinese delegation was composed of

·         H.E. CHI Wanchun, Vice-Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the National People’s Congress and Chairman of the China-Canada Legislative Association;

·         Mr. XIONG Qunli, Vice Chair of the NPC Financial and Economic Committee and member of the CCLA;

·         Mr. WU Heng, Vice Chair of the NPC Education, Science, Culture and Health Committee;

·         Mr. LI Yihu, member of the NPC Foreign Affairs Committee;

·         Mr. LU Jianping, member of the NPC Foreign Affairs Committee and Chinese Vice Chair of the CCLA; and

·         Mr. ZHAI Huqu, member of the NPC Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee.

The Chinese delegation was also accompanied by Mr. XU Dong, Director General, International Communication Office of the NPC Foreign Affairs Committee, Mr. CHENG Zhiqiang, Deputy Director General, International Communication Office of the NPC Foreign Affairs Committee, Mr. HONG Yingchun, Counselor at the Chinese Embassy in Ottawa, Mr. YANG Fan, Director, Division of International Exchange Mechanism, International Communication Office, NPC Foreign Affairs Committee, Mr. MIAO Hongbo, Deputy Director, NPC Foreign Affairs Committee, Ms. LEI Min, officer, NPC Foreign Affairs Committee, and Ms. CHEN Fanfang, officer, NPC Foreign Affairs Committee

The two-hour Bilateral Meeting included discussions on Peaceful Development and on Food Security and Safety.

Beijing — Meetings

During its visit in Beijing, the Canadian delegation had three specific meetings with Chinese officials to discuss matters related to their responsibilities. The Chinese officials were

·         Ms. SHEN Yueyue, Vice Chair of the 12th National People’s Congress and Chair of All-China Women’s Federation;

·         Mr. XIE Feng, Director General, Department of North America and Oceania, Ministry of Foreign Affairs; and

·         Mr. TENG Jiacai, Vice Minister of the China Food and Drug Administration (CFDA).

Shanghai

In Shanghai, the delegation visited the Canada Pavilion and all kiosks of Canadian producers, as well as the CanadaBeef and CanadaPork pavilions at the Food and Hospitality China (FHC) Trade Fair. Parliamentarians also met Canadian food suppliers and participated in a roundtable discussion on Canadian food imports to China. The delegation also met Ms. Zhong Yanqun, Vice-Chair of the Shanghai Municipal People’s Congress.

The delegation also visited neighbouring Suzhou, where they met Ms. Du Guolin, Chairman of Suzhou People’s Congress.

Conclusion

The 17^th Bilateral visit of the CCLA to China accomplished much to solidify the long-standing relationship with their Chinese counterparts in the National People’s Congress. This visit also provided a great opportunity to support Canadian parliamentarians in their trade promotion efforts to increase Canadian food exports to China. Finally, the delegations provided a meaningful Canadian presence at the Hong Kong Remembrance Ceremony and enabled Canadian parliamentarians to pay their respects to Canadian soldiers buried in Hong Kong.

 

Respectfully submitted,