By IAN ROSS
A Sault Ste. Marie business-led trade mission to China this spring is hoping to open up some exciting new opportunities for local companies.
A 25-person delegation representing the City of Sault Ste. Marie and 15 local companies will be on a whirlwind tour of seven Chinese cities including the Chinese Export Commodities Fair, also called the Canton Fair, one of the world’s largest heavy equipment and textiles expositions.
The April 13-28 trip includes visits to China’s financial and industrial heartland with stops in Hong Kong, Guangzhou (site of the Canton Fair), Shenzhen, Shanghai, Nanjing, Xian and Beijing.
Organizer Don Mitchell says the trip is not just a prospecting journey as he fully expects some companies to come home with signed deals. “We’re looking for opportunities and partnerships, both importing and exporting.
“How fast is China growing in the industrial cities? Shanghai is 17 million people and it has half of Canada’s population is one city,” says Mitchell, a former Sault chamber president. “By 2030, they expect it to be 30 million. Unbelievable growth.”
“We’re very impressed with the business opportunities, the political will to partner with Canada and the magnitude of the growth and how fast it’s happening,” says Sault Ste. Marie Economic Development Corporation executive director Bruce Strapp, who visited China on a trade mission last fall.
The city of Shengzhen, near Hong Kong, was once a fishing “village’ of 150,000 people more than 25 years ago that now numbers 11 million inhabitants. With a deep sea port, it’s considered the fastest growing city in China.
Mitchell says there’s enormous opportunities for Northern Ontario companies to export lumber, paper and any and all recycled material. Chinese companies are also looking for mining expertise and related technology.
One Sault company, Purvis Marine, a Great Lakes tug and barge service, will resume negotiations with a Chinese shipyard to build and deliver two petroleum-carrying tanker barges for Great Lakes use.
Meakin Forest Enterprises is working on relationship to export lumber to China, while Stitch King, a customer embroidery company is looking to import fabric for t-shirts and sweaters.
There’s also opportunities to bring goods and add value to them here, says Mitchell, as evidenced by Wal-Mart and many Big Box chains, which import fabric and other material from overseas.
To avoid misunderstandings and pirating of exported North American goods and technology, Mitchell says the key is to deal with reputable third-party agents.
Far East trade mission experts PBB Global Logistics/Livingstone International will lead the trip and arrange one-on-one meetings between potential business partners.
“If you do business with a top-notch intermediary, you have no worries,” says Mitchell. “There are some terrible tales, but there are also some tremendous success stories.”
Mitchell says Chinese companies eager to enter the North American marketplace, love partnerships. “If you partner with them, they are far more protective.”
The Sault group’s first stop is Hong Kong where delegates will be counseled by Canadian and U.S. consulate trade representatives and investment companies.
Mitchell says by doing business through Hong Kong firms, Canadian companies can better protect their investment.
He says most of the opportunities are long gone for those looking to secure work for the upcoming 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. On his last visit in April, the Chinese government had already awarded the building contracts and the city was in full construction mode in erecting stadiums and doubling the size of the airport.
