Hon. Alice Wong, P.C.

Photo: Minister of State Wong and the delegation of Canadian ICT companies launch the trade mission in Shanghai.

April 7, 2013
Shanghai, China

The Honourable Ed Fast, Minister of International Trade and Minister for the Asia-Pacific Gateway, and the Honourable Alice Wong, Minister of State (Seniors), are leading a five-day trade mission to advance the interests of Canadian businesses in China and Japan. Increased trade will in turn lead to more jobs and greater prosperity in Canada.

In 2012, a turnaround year for Canada-China trade, two-way merchandise trade amounted to $70.1 billion. China is now Canada’s second-largest export market, after the United States. Japan is Canada’s fourth-largest export market, with exports worth some $10.4 billion in 2012. A Joint Study on the Possibility of a Canada-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement found that such an agreement could increase Canadian exports to Japan by as much as 67 percent.

Minister Fast and Minister of State Wong are accompanied on the trade mission by representatives of 18 mainly small and medium-sized Canadian companies from Canada’s information and communication technologies (ICT) and medical-imaging sectors.

The trade mission, which is being organized by the Canadian Trade Commissioner Service, is one of several strategically focused, sector-specific missions that Minister Fast has led since taking on the international trade portfolio.

Located in more than 150 cities worldwide and in regional offices across Canada, the Canadian Trade Commissioner Service, part of Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada, is Canada’s most extensive network of international business professionals. The Trade Commissioner Service helps companies that are looking to export, invest abroad, attract investment or develop innovation and R&D partnerships.

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