Canadian PM to Visit China: Oil, Trade and Human Rights on the Agenda

BBC reported that Chinese state-owned companies have already invested in excess of $16-billion in Canadian energy projects, including oil-sands, over the past two years.

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One of those firms, China Petroleum & Chemical Corp. (better known as Sinopec) has invested in a proposed pipeline that would provide an alternate route for oil to be shipped from Alberta oilfields.

"Our government is committed to moving our relationship with China forward by focusing on deepening economic ties, including opening new markets, and setting the foundation for long-term growth," Harper said last month.

The Prime Minister will be accompanied by four cabinet ministers, including the ministers of natural resources, trade and foreign affairs, as well as seven MPs. Harper is expected to meet with President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao, during his sojourn to Beijing and two other Chinese cities.

Harper previously visited China in 2009.

CBC reported that when Harper first took office in 2006, relations between Canada and China were cold, largely over Beijing’s human rights record. Indeed, Harper skipped the 2008 Summer Olympics and even met with the exiled Tibetan leader, the Dalai Lama, enraging Chinese government officials.

After Harper’s tense visit to Beijing three years ago, relations started to thaw, leading to Hu Jintao’s journey to Canada in 2010.

Bilateral trade between the two countries totaled $58-billion in 2010, according to the Vancouver Sun newspaper – having tripled since 2001 -- making Canada the Middle Kingdom’s second biggest two-way trade partner after the United States.

However, according to CBC, it’s not an equal relationship – Canada’s share of that trade amounted to only $13.2-billion, mostly exports of natural resources.

The Sun also noted that Canada’s direct investment in China totaled $4.8 billion in 2010, while Chinese direct investment in Canada amounted to $14.1 billion.