Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson will lead a business trade mission to China next week aimed almost exclusively at selling green business technology.
The 11-day trip, which will cost taxpayers about $120,000, should open doors with Chinese mayors and government officials who are eager to do business with many of the 22 Vancouver-based green companies that are accompanying him for part of the trip, Robertson said Wednesday.
¡°My focus is opening doors to local government officials in China. The mayors hold considerable power in China and make huge procurement decisions for their infrastructure,¡± he said.¡±China¡¯s focus now is on green infrastructure and greening their economy so they are looking for technology, products and services that Vancouver companies have been world leaders in developing.¡±
Robertson said the trip is the first time in recent history that a Vancouver mayor has gone to China specifically with the intent of creating economic opportunities.
¡°I provide access to Chinese officials in government that are responsible for the majority of economic activity in China,¡± he said. ¡°It is difficult for these companies to access those officials without a mayor or a senior elected official from here.¡±
Robertson¡¯s office is spending $45,000 for the trip, with $75,000 coming from the Vancouver Economic Development Commission for a four-day conference in Shanghai. Business leaders accompanying Robertson to Shanghai are covering their own costs of about $350,000.
For the first two days the mayor will be in Beijing and Hubei province, where he will meet with government officials and tour two solar power and wind turbine factories. The mayor is also speaking to the World Economic Forum in Tianjin on how integrating smart energy, communications and transportation will impact countries and companies. He will end his trip with a visit to Vancouver¡¯s sister city of Guangzhou, accompanied by city councillor Raymond Louie.
But it is at the VEDC¡¯s four-day business conference in Shanghai where Robertson expects Vancouver¡¯s greatest gains to be made. The Canadian contingent is broken into three groups; green technology, green buildings and digital media industries.
Among those going are Westport Innovations, which specializes in fuel-efficient natural gas, hydrogen and biomethane engines; Pulse Energy, which produces energy management software, and Light-Based Industries, which creates energy-efficient lighting industry solutions.
¡°I expect Vancouver companies to land significant deals and investment through this trip and for Vancouver¡¯s profile to be boosted in China,¡± he said. ¡°I expect the results will be a dramatic success for the city and money well spent to create economic activity when we need it most.¡±
Lee Malleau, the VEDC¡¯s acting chief executive said between four and six major business deals will be finalized at the conference.
Malleau said Vancouver¡¯s previous connections to China have largely been diplomatic in nature but this trip is designed to match Vancouver businesses with Chinese counterparts.
www.EnergyChinaForum.com
¡°This trip isn¡¯t about us as a city going over to shake hands, this is about us as a city creating a platform for our businesses to go over and generate trade and investment that will create more jobs and investment back here in Vancouver.¡±.(Edited by EnergyChinaForum.com. For more information, please email to: info@energychinaforum.com)
(VS news,Sep 2,2010)
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