China ‘excited’ to move things forward with Canada: Invest Alberta on upcoming trade talks

CEO of Invest Alberta and who will be a part of the delegation to China, Rick Christiaanse, discusses Alberta's trade ties with China.

Rick Christiaanse, the CEO of Invest Alberta who will be part of a Canadian delegation to China, joined CTV Your Morning Edmonton’s Kent Morrison on what Alberta’s relationship has been like with China.

This transcript has been edited for length and clarity.

Kent Morrison: What has Invest Alberta’s relationship been like with China over the past few years?

Rick Christiaanse: It’s been quite close. This is my ninth visit to China and it’s really all about building those long term relationships. When you look at Chinese culture, they don’t deal with you on a one-off basis. They want to know you. They want to know your organization. They want to know the province of Alberta, which they know really well.

Kent: Canada and China’s relationship has been frosty the last couple of years. How did you navigate that?

Rick: Alberta has always had deeper relationships with the Chinese. All the oil companies that are in China are actually present here. Alberta traditionally has attracted almost $60-billion worth of investment, about 50 per cent of what Canada already has. While people recognize that there were issues with the federal government, we’ve been able to separate ourselves from that and go from there.

Kent: Now the federal government is making a trip to China, trying to strengthen ties again. How much have they leaned on Invest Alberta in the lead up to these meetings?

Rick: There’s lots of discussions going back and forth because we’ve been working on a number of great projects that Alberta is interested in pursuing further that we want to advance, which is really practical because it gives us something to talk about.

Kent: What will your role be over the next little while as you make your way to China yourself?

Rick: I will do my own set of meetings to make sure that we remain abreast of whatever is happening and provide support to the federal government wherever they need it to move things forward.

Kent: There’s a lot of talk about a pipeline to the west coast and to Asian markets. What are you hearing from both sides about the prospect of this pipeline?

Rick: The Chinese are highly interested in our oil and gas. They have been trying to diversify for a number of years. For all the times I’ve been there, they’ve always said they’d like more of Alberta’s oil and we’ve always had to say there’s no opportunity with that. So they’re incredibly excited about the fact the MOU got signed last fall and all the work Premier Danielle Smith and her team have been doing. This is going to help us advance that discussion greatly.

Kent: How big would it be if there was some reduction on canola tariffs and on the other side, EV tariffs? What would that do for relationships and for business between the two countries?

Rick: I think the EV challenge is a really interesting one. I’ve driven some and they’re a lot less expensive. They’re about $15,000 to $20,000, so I think for consumers in Canada, being able to get access to those vehicles would be amazing.

Kent: Given your experience, what sort of approach should the prime minister be taking with this delegation as he makes his way to China?

Rick: Number one, Mark Carney has been to China a number of times and has a great reputation there already, so it’s building on what we already have. It’s just continuing to advance the day-to-day work that we’re doing, picking specific projects of which Alberta has quite a few, and moving those forward. I think the Chinese are really looking for us to move things forward at this point.

Kent: What are you expecting to come out of these meetings? Is this going to be a one time thing, or as you said, is it going to be a back and forth?

Rick: It has to be a back and forth. That’s the way the Chinese operate. They want to talk things through. They want to understand what’s happening. The ambassador there and I, who have met frequently as well, have always been working on things. So this is one step along the way, but I think it’s helpful to push some things over the line, both here in Canada and in China.