Upcoming Events: Stay tuned for updates!
Symposium: Canada and the Indo-Pacific Strategic Environment
A political construct, the ‘Indo-Pacific’ region is a strategic environment that will shape the 21st century. Home to both India and China, the term is being adopted by governments who see the region as holding both unparalleled economic opportunities along with deeply concerning security challenges. While the ‘Indo-Pacific’ as a term has been favoured by India and the United States, it has also been met with skepticism in Australia and China. Despite the controversy, the Indo-Pacific is an important term that captures and defines a vast region that is strategically important for Canada. This symposium hopes to assess Canada’s policy preferences within the region and asks how prepared Ottawa is for this complex political landscape.
Featuring guest lectures from: Paul Evans (University of British Columbia) – Kenneth Christie (Royal Roads University) – Mary Hanlon (Okanagan College) – Eric Lien (Thomson Rivers University) – Bala Nikku (Thomson Rivers University) – Scott Harrison (Asia Pacific Foundation) – Quinton Huang (Asia Pacific Foundation) – Taylor Brydges(University of Toronto) – Terry Kading (Thomson Rivers University) – Eric Li (University of British Columbia Okanagan) – Johnathan Miller (MacDonald Laurier Institute) – Robert J. Hanlon (Thompson Rivers University) – Matt Hussain (University of British Columbia Okanagan) – Victor Ramraj (University of Victoria) – Mark Williams (Vancouver Island University) – Selina Haynes (Vancouver Island University) – Wenran Jiang – Institute for Peace and Diplomacy.
September 25, 2021
China’s Latest Five-Year Plan: Insights for Western Canadian Trade
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 is 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 provides 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.
China’s Latest Five-Year Plan: Insights for Western Canadian Trade was been organized by the Canada West Foundation, in partnership with the Canada China Business Council, China Institute at the University of Alberta, Canada and the Asia Pacific Policy Project at Thompson Rivers University, the Jack Austin Centre for Asia Pacific Business Studies at Simon Fraser University and World Trade Centre Winnipeg, with support from the Export Development Canada.
May 10-13, 2021