BC Premier Christy Clark (left) meets with Xu Niansha (right), chairman of Poly Culture Group, for the signing of an MOU to establish its North America head office in Vancouver, on Nov 2.

Established on the foundation of Poly Technologies, Inc, in February 1992, China Poly Group Corporation was born, under the management of State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC). It is a well-established business with multiple major business projects in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, and many more. As an important enterprise to the country of China, it focuses mainly on trade, real estate, and culture. Its trade is highly ranked amongst many of the top import and export firms in China, as published by the Ministry of Commerce in 2014.

Recently, China Poly collaborated with China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) to invest in the new China International Exhibition Centre. As the market for real estate skyrockets, Poly Real Estate Group Company Ltd creates a multitude of opportunities for individuals and companies. It is one of the top five property developers in China, engaged in the design, development, construction, and sale of residential and commercial properties. An overseas platform for real estate lies with Poly (Hong Kong) Investments Ltd, as it is also a very profitable enterprise. Poly Culture & Arts Co, Ltd invests into a variety of art forms including theatrical performances, theatre management, as well as film and TV production. This successful company reached assets up to 382.9 billion RMB as of 2014.

Poly Culture Group signed the MOU, Memorandum of Understanding with the objective of establishing their second headquarters in Vancouver, the first headquartered in Beijing, China. The second international head office is well on its way, as 2017 will mark the establishment of this enterprise. Premier Christy Clark witnessed the signing of the MOU during her third trade mission to Beijing, China, as joined by the Minister of International Trade, Teresa Wat. The MOU not only permits the expansion of the China Poly Group Corporation, but also the expansion of at least three other business lines in the North American market. In order to establish a North American performance base in Vancouver, Clark, along with Wat and representatives from HQ Vancouver met with Beijing Performance and Arts Group (BPAG) to build on the letter of intent. This was executed in hopes to reinforce the partnership with HQ Vancouver.

Poly Culture Group’s main focus is aimed toward performance and theatre management, art business, as well as auction and cinema investment. It wishes to expand its culture and influence into North America as China and Canada further establish business exchanges. As Vancouver represents the economic hub of the Pacific, it offers convenience for China as well as other major economic ports to create bilateral co-operations. Furthermore, Canada is well known for its hospitality, welcoming many new businesses into its heart of economics.

While it focuses on numerous aspects of culture, Poly Culture is key to providing a market for international exchanges in art. Not only does it include artwork collections but also auctioning. This top transaction platform is offered by Poly Auction, achieving 82.2 billion yuan transactions in 2014. Poly Auction became known worldwide after its museum in Beijing housed the historic bronze sculptures stolen from the Old Summer Palace in Beijing. The representative of Poly Culture stated her wishes to expand their cultural influence not just to Canada but also on a greater global scale.

Furthermore, this Chinese auction house began raising international profile after engaging in increasing competitions with other global players. This company manages over more than 40 theatres as well as producing around 4,500 performances in the past year. It encourages the establishment of global purchase and networks, expanding Asian Culture to the international market. Poly Culture Group Co, Ltd. was listed sixth in 2014 in the “Top 30 Cultural Enterprises in China”. This corporation has been re-elected for six consecutive years since the launch of this award in 2008, awarded jointly by the “Guangming Daily” and “Economic Daily”.

Poly Culture fosters a strong backbone for cultural enterprises; it promotes the healthy and rapid development of the cultural industry as well as providing an important platform to demonstrate China’s cultural reform and developmental achievements. Recent updates show that over 1.3 million Canadian residents are of Chinese origin, thus cultural exchange is highly valued by Poly Culture. The company wishes to better understand their bilateral cwwo-operation, infusing both Canadian culture and traditional Chinese culture into their projects. This cultural exchange promotes diversity within the Chinese cultural industry in North America, also perhaps serving as an example of cultural integration as this major Chinese enterprise infuses with North American identity.