The Spirit of
Canada: Innovative and Young
Remarks by
the Hon. David Kilgour
Secretary
of State (Asia-Pacific) and M.P. for Edmonton
Southeast
To Junior
Team Canada
and the Guangzhou
Chapter of the Canada-China Business Council
China Hotel,
Guangzhou, China
August 16,
2002
*Check Against
Delivery
Members of
Canada-China Business Council, Mayor Liu of
Foshan, Consul Generals of Asia Pacific, distinguished
guests, ladies and gentlemen. I'd like to
offer a particularly warm welcome to the younger
people here: Kingold MBA students and JTC
delegates. My message is about innovation,
youth, and Canada's relations with China.
Guangzhou
has opened my eyes to the opportunities
for economic prosperity and growth in this
country. It is a vibrant city. My only regret
is that all of us can't spend more time
here.
We started
our visit with a presentation by our Consul
General, Paul Lau, on the opportunities
in South China, entitled "The Pearl
of China." As I mentioned yesterday,
I've never thought of a city or region as
a pearl, but there seems to be no better
way to describe the region here! To borrow
a few stats from Paul Lau, it ranks #1 right
across the board - #1 in trade volume, #1
in trading history, and #1 in foreign direct
investment. It is the wealthiest region
of China.
With a population
of 165 million - a full 13% of China as
a whole - it is an incredibly important
regional force. Total imports and exports
in and out of this region total $220 billion
a year (CAD), representing 40% of China's
total. Foreign direct investment to the
region is higher still - a staggering $220
billion (CAD). Not surprisingly, the region
is leading the country in terms of disposable
income and economic growth.
Guangdong,
in particular, is exceeding all expectations,
with a GDP growth of 9.5%, well over the
7.3% national average. It is also at the
forefront of China's ongoing economic reforms,
having been one of the earliest to open
its doors to international trade, and indeed,
as China's only door to the west for 200
years before 1911. As such, there is no
place better in China to discuss global
technological and economic advances than
here in the province of Guangdong.
A Changing
World
The world
is changing; the young and educated are
leading the charge. We are in the midst
of a massive shift in the way we communicate,
live, work and learn, and the way we do
business and trade. You've heard all the
buzzwords - "wireless" …
"e-com" … "the power
of the Internet" … "globalization"
… "the global village." We
hear them so often, that it's easy to dismiss
them, but they really are revolutionizing
how we do business and live.
And they're
picking up speed. In China, for example,
the number of cell phone users is increasing
at a rate of 5,000,000 a month! Technologies
converge. New markets emerge. Mergers and
acquisitions are a commercial "way
of life." Companies are restructuring,
and entire industries are co-operating.
Trade barriers are giving way to trade integration.
The monopolies and state-owned enterprises
of yesterday are being toppled by competition,
efficiency and privatization. In short,
innovation and globalization are making
the world a smaller and often better place
… and significantly reshaping our social,
economic and political landscape in the
process.
For business,
this translates into exponential opportunities
- for foreign investment, global partnerships,
joint ventures, trade. But there's also
the human element - something often forgotten
- which, in the bigger picture, is even
more important. Technological advances,
particularly in biotechnology and health,
hold enormous promise for improving the
quality of life everywhere. This is the
subject of my talk today, and I'll touch
on Canada's accomplishments in these areas
in a moment. But allow me, for a minute,
to challenge each of you to try to see things
from a global but human perspective.
Below the
Bottom Line
Don't fall
into the trap of thinking only of profits,
return on investment or the bottom line.
Regardless of where we live, we're all in
this together, all six billion of us. We
share similar values. We breathe the same
air. Whether we're from Guangzhou, Saskatchewan,
Islamabad or Rome, when it comes down to
it, most of us want the same things - happiness,
health, good education for our children,
to be appreciated for who we are, to be
treated with dignity and respect.
Having met
many of you during the Junior Team Canada
mission this week, I know you're bright
and ambitious, but I can tell that you also
have good hearts. At almost every meeting
we've been to together, someone speaks out
about the environment or the values that
Canadians hold dear. One of you, yesterday,
during your briefing with the consulate,
stressed the importance of transparency
in laws. Many of you ask about education
and increasing our "human links."
Our future business leaders clearly are
not only driven to succeed but are determined
to make this a better world, and I encourage
you, in the coming weeks and years, to watch
for the opportunities to help your sisters
and brothers around the globe.
In China,
this could mean taking investment west to
help jumpstart the region that needs it
most. It could mean creating "people
to people" links, particularly in the
areas of education and the arts. Consider,
for example, building educational bridges
- anything that brings our youth here and
China's young people to our home. Work with
your Chinese counterparts to bring a Junior
Team China to Canada. Be creative. Think
outside the box! A young pianist from Western
Canada, Martin Mayer, recently finished
a 15 city tour of China. Next year, theatres
across China will open to "Dracula,"
courtesy of the outstanding Royal Winnipeg
Ballet. Cultural exchanges like these inject
life into our relations - and corporate
sponsorship and support are often key.
Canadian
Presence in the Region
Clearly,
the ties between countries aren't just about
politics and trade. But that doesn't mean
trade and investment aren't enormously important.
As we see here in Guangzhou, investment
energizes cities, fuels local economies,
stimulates growth and creates local jobs.
A Canadian manufacturing company in Suzhou,
for example, which I was fortunate to visit
earlier this week, went from a few employees
to over 1000 in just a few years, with plans
to reach 3000 by the end of next year. Here
in South China, Canadian firms are not only
establishing manufacturing bases but also
investing in R&D. A perfect example
in Guangzhou is Nortel's centre at Zhongshan
University, which has grown from just a
few to about 200 mostly young staff within
just a few years.
Canadian
companies are unquestionably successful
here, and these are the kinds of success
stories we, as Canadians, can be proud of.
Across all the key sectors, we enjoy significant
accomplishments in the region, and we're
represented by some of our best. In the
financial services sector, we have Manulife
here, along with the Bank of Nova Scotia
and the Bank of Montreal. In transportation,
we have Bombardier. In IT, Nortel. You get
the idea.
In the environment
sector, we're represented by Richway, Trojan
and, of course, SNC-Lavalin. In construction
and materials: B+H International, MHKW Architects,
and Fresbec. In the energy sector, we have
SM Group, as well as DSG-Canusa, to name
a few. Agriculture and biotechnology - the
list is long: Evergreen Vegetables, Galton
Brewery, Clearwater Fine Foods, YES Biotech,
WEX, Rocky Mountain … I could go on!
And, of course, there's the National Gallery
of Canada, as well as some of our finest
educational institutions, including the
Universities of Saskatchewan and British
Columbia, which I understand may have some
alumni here today.
Such successes
aren't limited to Guangzhou. I could describe
dozens of successful ventures in Shanghai
and Beijing. Without a doubt, Canadian companies
are leaving their mark on China. Many of
you may be wondering how you can do the
same.
Biotechnology
and Health
As unbelievable
as this sounds, some of you may decide to
forego business and focus on other fields,
like the sciences, instead. Or you may discover
that you have a technical flair or a passion
for building, designing, perhaps R&D.
If that's the case, go for it! Many other
Canadians did … and look at the good
they're bringing to people around the world.
In the area
of health, Canadian researchers have made
significant advancements in battling cancer,
diabetes, cystic fibrosis, Alzheimers and
HIV/AIDS.
Two Canadians,
Banting and Best, discovered insulin in
1921, still the only treatment for diabetes.
The University of Alberta has built on this
strength by developing a tool for creating
insulin naturally, called Islet-cell transplantation.
In the fight
against cancer, Canadian researchers have
made significant inroads in the global search
for a treatment or cure. Julia Levy from
UBC co-discovered photodynamic drugs; the
University of Calgary's Patrick Lee developed
a reoviruis - a potential treatment.
Our Hospital
for Sick Children in Toronto has been a
leader in the treatment of children, but
it also gave us significant hope in the
battle against cystic fibrosis with the
discovery of the defective gene that causes
the illness by Lep-Chee Tsui in 1989. Dr.
Tsui is now the president of the University
of Honk Kong, and we look forward to his
continued leadership in health science research
and his promotion of Canadian science in
this region.
Research
into Alzheimer's took a significant leap
forward with the work of researchers at
the University of Toronto and McGill. McGill's
Judes Poirier identified a link between
Alzheimer's and apolipoprotein E. Peter
St. George-Hyslop, of the University of
Toronto, successfully immunized mice against
the disease.
And Dr. Bernard
Belleau, who lead a group of researchers
at McGill University in the 1980s, discovered
3TC (lamivudine), a medication that plays
a key role in the treatment of AIDS. Dr.
Belleau was also instrumental in founding
a pharmaceutical company called BioChem
Pharma Inc., one of the largest of its kind
in Canada. The firm invests over $80 million
in medical research every year.
On the commercial
side too, Canada ranks extremely well when
we compare our biotech sector to those of
other countries. We are first in the world
in terms of R&D per biotech employee,
second to the United States in the number
of biotech companies, and third in biotechnology
revenues, after only the United States and
the United Kingdom.
As you can
see, Canadians accomplishments in biotechnology
and health have implications for patients,
families and researchers around the globe.
Canada is not only a country of cold winters
and snow. We are a country of innovators,
and they're changing the world.
Telecommunication
and ICTs
Another area
where Canadian expertise is often overlooked
is telecommunication and information and
communication technologies. In 1876, Alexander
Graham Bell made the first successful telephone
call from his Ontario lab. In 1901, Marconi
received the first transatlantic wireless
message on what are now Canadian shores.
Fast forward to 1972, when Canadian scientists
launched the first telecommunication satellite
- the Anik A.
Then there's
the Internet. Most of you want things to
move fast. The high-speed network is your
connection to the rest of the world. So
just how fast is "high speed"?
Well, I'm told that Canada's CA*net 3 can
download a two-and-a-half movie in one-fifth
of the second. Now that is fast! With a
bandwidth greater than any commercial Internet
link, CA*net 3 is the fastest in the world.
Despite the
global slowdown in the IT sector, our ICT
sector still attracts investors from around
the world. Our telecommunication companies
regularly form strategic alliances with
international firms to increase distribution
and develop new products. Our regulatory
environment makes it easy for Canadian businesses
and their international partners to move
innovative new products and services into
the global market. Canadian companies already
benefit from one of the worlds' best communication
infrastructure, but investment in Canada
offers even more - access to the most advanced
development networks anywhere. There's our
all-optical CA*net 3, which I've already
mentioned, and Canada’s National Test
Network which, at 6,000 kilometres, is the
longest fibre optic network in the world.
In short,
our high speed networks open worlds of opportunity,
and it is our young people who will help
us capitalize on these strengths. Multimedia,
virtual reality, real time audio and video
… electronic commerce, telemedicine,
distance learning … The possibilities
are endless, and so are the opportunities
to use advancements such as these to do
good around the world.
In Closing
At this point,
I'd like to hear from you. To those from
this region, how do you see Canada? To the
Canadians visiting or living here, how is
Canada viewed in the eyes of the people
you meet? What can we do to better brand
our country as something more than a place
of Mounties and snow? What can the Government
of Canada do to let the rest of the world
know of the tremendous accomplishments of
Canadian innovators, like the ones we touched
on today? How can we better promote the
accomplishments of our youth, our image
makers and breakers in the years to come?
And please,
don't be shy. I know that's not a problem
for JTC; those of you who heard last night's
singing will undoubtedly agree! But to the
rest of our guests, please do share what
you think. And if you have further ideas,
I'd love to hear from you when we get back.
You have my email - kilgour@parl.gc.ca.
Please also visit my website: www.david-kilgour.com.
I'll try to post some of the responses to
the Web. Thank you again for listening.
It has been a great pleasure.
|
