Alberta-led trade mission to China likely won't proceed

An Albertagovernment trade mission to China is unlikelyto proceed in March asplanned, says provincial Economic Development and Trade MinisterDeron Bilous.

Biloussays he is not prepared to lead thetrade delegationto China amidunresolved tensions betweenCanada and China,in the wake of the detention in Vancouver last month of a high-profile Chinese telecommunications executive.

"We're monitoring the situation, but obviously we are not going to send anyone into a situation ... where there's still outstanding concerns," Bilous told CBC.

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"It's unlikely that they'll be going in March," he said about the delegation. "We're not about to take any chances if we feel that things aren't resolved or moving toward resolution."

Bilous speaks Mandarin, has led previous trade missions and had lived in two different regions of China.

Even with his experience and knowledge,he would personally avoid visiting China these days amid the uncertainty.

"To be honest, I'd probably be uncomfortable with the idea of going," he said.

About 30 Alberta companies havebeen planning to participate in thetrade mission to Beijing led byAlberta Economic Development and Trade.

China is major trading partner

Delegates are scheduled toattend the China International Petroleum & Petrochemical Technology Equipment Exhibition.

"We know that business needs to continue," said Bilous, noting China is Alberta's second-largest trading partner after the United States.

"And the challenge with ongoing disputes like this is they can have real implications that last much longer than a situation."

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Bilous said trade and business with China are important to all parties.According to information on the government of Alberta website, trade between Alberta and China has tripled since 2003, and has grown by 26.4 per cent since 2016.

Exports from Alberta to China now account for $3.29 billion annually, with products ranging from alcohol, to oil, to lumber and pulp.

Forestry market pivots to China

The frosty relationship between Canada and Chinacomes at a crucial time, saidPaul Whittaker, president and CEO of Alberta Forest Products Association.

With 24 per cent tariffs on Canadian softwood lumber going into the United States for almost two years, there has been a "pivot" to the Chinese market over the last six months, Whittakersaid.

"Everyone is waiting with bated breath to see what kind of impact, if any, this has," he said.

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Without the Chinese market now worth about half a billion dollars annuallyAlberta forest producers would be in the same situation as the energy industry, with the United States as the only major client, he said.

Whittaker was on a trade mission to China led by the British Columbia government in December whenCanadians MichaelKovrigand MichaelSpavorwere arrested and detained.

"There was just a sense that there was a heightened tension," he said.

Meetings with government officials were abruptly cancelled and participants returned to Canada early, without critical face-to-face meetings with government officials, Whittaker said.

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"As a result of the hurly-burly that week, those meetings went by the wayside," he said.

"We would hope toget those [meetings]back on the schedule again andin the months ahead."

Kovrig and Spavor have been detainedin what Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has described as arbitrarydetentions in retaliation for the arrest of HuaweiCFO Meng Wanzhou.

Chinese officials havesaid only that Kovrig and Spavorare accused of "engaging in activities endangering national security."

Another Canadian, Robert Schellenberg, recently had his 15-year sentence for drug smuggling changedto a death sentence by a Chinese court after a retrial.