News

Vancouver mayor to bring green message to China

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-09-04 13:51

VANCOUVER - The Vancouver mayor and a delegation of representatives from 22 corporations in the Canadian city will bring a green message to China in an upcoming trade mission designed to promote and sell clean energy technology, mobility and infrastructure.

As part of the 11-day trip which will start on Sept 6 in Beijing and cover seven cities, Mayor Gregor Robertson will accompany the business delegation as a conduit to open doors to the Chinese government officials who are interested in greening their economy through new technology, products and services that Vancouver companies can provide.

"The signals from the premier and president have been very clear that China is serious about the green economy and they see this as the future of the world's economy and China wants to be the leader in the green economy," said Robertson when meeting with the Chinese press in Vancouver on Thursday.

"We're seeing very significant dollars being invested in green infrastructure in fundamentally changing the way China is building out their cities. That means opportunities for the Canadian companies which have great technologies, great products and services that can fill in those gaps and help China to advance on this. There are some really significant partnerships that can come from this. It's a lot of growth and these technologies are ready to go off the shelf."

Dubbed the "Vancouver Green Capital Business Mission," the trip includes a three-day stop at the Vancouver Pavilion at the Shanghai Expo where the delegation will showcase its offerings of clean technology, green buildings and digital media.

Related readings:  University students make green pledge  Green Transportation in China  Demand for 'green funds' increasing  50 green buses make debut in Tianjin

Vancouver, which has set its lofty goal of being the world's greenest city by 2020 through an ambitious 10-year plan, has transformed itself radically over the past four decades from its former industrial pattern. The city's building code right now is the greenest in North America, while the creation of sustainable communities is actively promoted.

With about $350,000 of the trip expenditure supported by private businesses and another $120,000 invested by the city and the Vancouver Economic Development Commission to host the business forum at the World Expo, Robertson believed the effort would result in "many, many times more dollars and investments" for the companies on the trip.

"They will establish business relationships with the Chinese companies and hopefully supply agreements and contracts with cities in China which do a lot of purchasing. I expect that they will be able to create jobs here to supply that increased business and I hope that there is some investment into these companies from the Chinese business as well," he said.

"As well, we should see more exposure for Vancouver specifically, hopefully that encourages more tourism. We have great opportunities to welcome more tourists here and businesses from China to locate in Vancouver."

During the trip, Robertson, a distant relative of the famous Canadian Doctor Norman Bethune, will visit the Bethune International Peace Hospital in Shijiazhuang and Baoding to look at the Yingli Solar Group and Huiteng Wind Power Equipment.

He will attend the Annual Meeting of the New Champions of the World Economic Forum on Sept 12-14 in Tianjin, followed by the ceremony of the 25th anniversary of the Guangzhou-Vancouver sister-city relationship in Guangdong province.

Robertson will visit Hong Kong on Sept 16 before flying home.