2014-15 Canada-China Business Forum Magazine | Page 90
THE YEAR IN REVIEW
THE YEAR IN REVIEW
Part of our success in each of our smalloffice cities comes from our Advisory
Councils, which help us understand
issues from a regional perspective.
A charter has been established, providing
guidelines for Advisory Councils to help us be
vital and grow. The Montreal council is now
well established, Shanghai is up and running,
and an Alberta council based in Calgary
was formed earlier this year. Our existing
Advisory Councils in Beijing and BC both
have new chairs this year, and we’re working
to make sure all cities leverage the synergies
between our active volunteers and managers
and are consistent in activities and approach.
The CCBC Board of Directors also provides
important guidance and support. This year
we focused on the future, with a board retreat
to discuss the CCBC’s role in the bilateral
economic relationship. It is crucial that we
structure our activities to remain relevant and
contribute to Canada’s economic prosperity.
Coming out of this retreat, expect to see
certain changes to our events (more outreach
and more integration of technology), deeper
engagement of certain sectors, more help for
SMEs and Chinese companies, a larger variety
of services, and stronger communications
and advocacy. We will keep advocating at a
high level for increased economic engagement
between Canada and China, to make sure
Canada keeps pace with our competitors. This
will include issues like a Renminbi trading
hub for Canada, and more aggressive steps
toward bilateral economic negotiations.
I could go on but wanted to at least provide you
with an overview on where we are and where
we are heading. I would also be remiss if I
didn’t point out that all this is possible because
of the support of our many stakeholders. All
three levels of government play an important
role in our membership and activities, and
we thank the Council of the Federation for
including our 2014 AGM in their China
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mission for premiers and delegates. A sincere
thank you also goes to the CCBC Board of
Directors and to the regional Advisory Councils
for their volunteer efforts, and to the Founding
Members, Benefactors and event sponsors
whose financial support sustains us throughout
the year and allows us to continue improving
the services we provide to members. \\ SK
Sarah Kutulakos is executive director
of the Canada China Business Council.
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Canadian Ambassador Guy Saint-Jacques delivering a China economic update to members in Vancouver
Canadian Consul General Weldon Epp speaking at a CCBC breakfast on business, trade and investment in Guangdong and South China
Former Chinese Ambassador, H.E. Zhang Junsai speaking at the official launch of the new CCBC Alberta Chapter in Calgary
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Chinese Ambassador, H.E. Luo Zhaohui addressing guests at the CCBC’s welcome dinner in Toronto
CANADA CHINA
FORUM
BUSINESS
2014-2015 ccbc.com
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