For firms, producers and others in Western Canada that have made China the West’s second-largest trading partner – and continue to increase that trade – China has provided a roadmap of its new economic goals in its latest Five-Year Plan (FYP). To ignore this information is a wasted opportunity, and potentially a costly mistake. Canada’s political conflicts with China have attracted a great deal of necessary attention; however, much less focus has been placed on managing the continuing growth in trade. Canada’s allies, who are also our export competitors, are paying attention to managing their trade relationship with China. A clear understanding of the FYP will help the West advance our interests, rather than allowing our competitors in China leave us behind.
This Five-Year Plan online symposium was an opportunity for those in Western Canada who trade with China or are affected by trade with China, as well as the institutions that work with these businesses, to dive into China’s 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025). The symposium provided an introduction to China’s latest FYP and how it affects specific sectors of interest to Western Canada, as well as insights on how businesses can use this information.