At the invitation of the China-Canada Legislative
Association (China), a Canadian parliamentary delegation, led by the Co-Chairs
of the Canada-China Legislative Association, the Honourable Donald Neil Plett,
Senator, and Ms. Wai Young, M.P., visited the People’s Republic of China
from November 9 to 17, 2013. The delegation participated in the 17th
Bilateral Consultations between the two Legislative Associations.
The delegation consisted of the following parliamentarians:
the Honourable Donald Neil Plett, Senator, Co-Chair of the Canada-China
Legislative Association, Ms. Wai Young, M.P., Co-Chair of the Canada-China
Legislative Association, the Honourable Lawrence A. MacAulay, P.C., M.P., the
Honourable Jim Munson, Senator, the Honourable Victor Oh, Senator, Ms. Chris
Charlton, M.P., Ms. Olivia Chow, M.P., Mr. Pierre Lemieux, M.P. and
Ms. Joyce Bateman, M.P. The delegation, accompanied by Mr. Michel
Marcotte, Association Secretary, visited Hong Kong, Beijing, and Shanghai.
Hong Kong
On Sunday, November 10, the delegation attended
the Hong Kong Ex-Servicemen Association’s Remembrance Ceremony at the Cenotaph
on Statue Square. The Co-Chairs laid a wreath on the Cenotaph, and the
delegation attended a luncheon at the Hong Kong Club with veterans and later
visited the Sai Wan War Cemetery, where they performed a private remembrance ceremony.
On Monday, November 11, the delegation had a
roundtable discussion with representatives of the Canadian Business Community
in Hong Kong and met members of the Hong Kong Legislative Council: Mr. Jasper
Tsang, President of the LegCo, Mr. Lee Cheuk-yan, Chairperson of the
Labour Party, and Mr. Abraham Shek, Member of the Legislative Council of
Hong Kong from the Real Estate and Construction Functional Constituency. The
delegation also met Mr. Martin Lee, Founder of the Democratic Party.
Beijing -— Bilateral Consultations
The 17th Bilateral Consultations were
held in the Great Hall of the People and chaired by Mr. CHI Wanchun. The Chinese delegation was composed of
·H.E. CHI Wanchun, Vice-Chairman of the Foreign
Affairs Committee of the National People’s Congress and Chairman of the
China-Canada Legislative Association;
·Mr. XIONG Qunli, Vice Chair of the NPC Financial
and Economic Committee and member of the CCLA;
·Mr. WU Heng, Vice Chair of the NPC Education,
Science, Culture and Health Committee;
·Mr. LI Yihu, member of the NPC Foreign Affairs
Committee;
·Mr. LU Jianping, member of the NPC Foreign
Affairs Committee and Chinese Vice Chair of the CCLA; and
·Mr. ZHAI Huqu, member of the NPC Agriculture and
Rural Affairs Committee.
The Chinese delegation was also accompanied by
Mr. XU Dong, Director General, International Communication Office of the
NPC Foreign Affairs Committee, Mr. CHENG Zhiqiang, Deputy Director
General, International Communication Office of the NPC Foreign Affairs
Committee, Mr. HONG Yingchun, Counselor at the Chinese Embassy in Ottawa,
Mr. YANG Fan, Director, Division of International Exchange Mechanism,
International Communication Office, NPC Foreign Affairs Committee, Mr. MIAO
Hongbo, Deputy Director, NPC Foreign Affairs Committee, Ms. LEI Min,
officer, NPC Foreign Affairs Committee, and Ms. CHEN Fanfang, officer, NPC
Foreign Affairs Committee
The two-hour Bilateral Meeting included
discussions on Peaceful Development and on Food Security and Safety.
Beijing — Meetings
During its visit in Beijing, the Canadian delegation
had three specific meetings with Chinese officials to discuss matters related
to their responsibilities. The Chinese officials were
·Ms. SHEN Yueyue, Vice Chair of the 12th National
People’s Congress and Chair of All-China Women’s Federation;
·Mr. XIE Feng, Director General, Department of
North America and Oceania, Ministry of Foreign Affairs; and
·Mr. TENG Jiacai, Vice Minister of the China Food and Drug Administration (CFDA).
Shanghai
In Shanghai, the delegation visited the Canada
Pavilion and all kiosks of Canadian producers, as well as the CanadaBeef and
CanadaPork pavilions at the Food and Hospitality China (FHC) Trade Fair. Parliamentarians
also met Canadian food suppliers and participated in a roundtable discussion on
Canadian food imports to China. The delegation also met Ms. Zhong Yanqun,
Vice-Chair of the Shanghai Municipal People’s Congress.
The delegation also visited neighbouring Suzhou,
where they met Ms. Du Guolin, Chairman of Suzhou People’s Congress.
Conclusion
The 17th Bilateral visit of the CCLA to
China accomplished much to solidify the long-standing relationship with their
Chinese counterparts in the National People’s Congress. This visit also
provided a great opportunity to support Canadian parliamentarians in their
trade promotion efforts to increase Canadian food exports to China. Finally,
the delegations provided a meaningful Canadian presence at the Hong Kong Remembrance
Ceremony and enabled Canadian parliamentarians to pay their respects to
Canadian soldiers buried in Hong Kong.
Respectfully submitted,
Hon. Victor Oh, Senator, Co-Chair
Canada-China Legislative Association
Ms. Wai Young, M.P., Co-Chair
Canada-China Legislative Association