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In the debate about whether Canada should welcome China’s growing investment in our energy, a couple of crucial points have been getting little air time: Canada’s energy isn’t as indispensible to China as some assume, and China is at least as motivated by learning how to operate in a Western market economy as it is by securing energy to fuel its future.
Junsai Zhang, China’s ambassador to Canada, drove those points home Friday — a rare attempt by the country to add its voice and bring back to reality a Canadian discussion it feels has gotten way ahead of itself.
“We haven’t imported one drop of oil,” Mr. Zhang said in an interview in Calgary. “It’s too early to say China imports your oil and gas. We are in a very good collaboration with Australia, with other Western countries. No problems. If we don’t import from here, we import from other countries. It’s OK.”
It’s a sobering and unexpected message. For all the concern about China’s increasing presence in Canada, not having the option of selling to that market would be a major setback. It would also be a missed opportunity to show global leadership.
China’s investment spree in the past two years in the oil sands and in shale gas, spearheaded by China’s top three state-controlled oil companies, has fanned controversies about proposed oil sands pipelines from Alberta to the West Coast, about the growth of the oil sands and about increased foreign ownership.
The underlying theme? That Canada is ruining its environment and depleting its strategic resources to feed the energy-hungry Asian powerhouse.
In Canada, the debate has been rowdy, but also healthy and is being encouraged by governments as they look to new trade horizons.
It’s a debate China is observing closely and that it feels is unfair.
“The government said that you want to diversify your [markets] and said it welcomes exports to China,” Mr. Zhang said before addressing a forum on the public policy dimensions of Chinese investment organized by the China Institute at the University of Alberta. “I don’t know why [some Canadians] say they don’t want to export to China. I don’t know what is the basis for this.”
China would like to work much closer with Canada, but the U.S.-educated ambassador, who moved to Canada in 2010 after holding the same position in Australia, said China is just as keen to mine Canada’s knowledge and practices as it is about its energy riches.
For the rest of this article, please go to the National Post website: http://business.financialpost.com/2012/05/04/is-canada-taking-china-for-granted-when-it-comes-to-energy/?__lsa=4abfde00