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NEWS |
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| ELECTORNIC EDITION |
| 2008-01-09 |
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GLOBAL CHINESE PRESS |
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Canada threatens China with WTO action over tourism ban
2008-01-09 10:10 AFP |  David Emerson
In a teleconference from Beijing, he accused Chinese officials of unfair discrimination in refusing to designate Canada an approved tourism destination, while granting more than 130 other countries the special status.
After three years of fruitless negotiations, he said, "we really have got to the point where we have to move it along in a meaningful way in a relatively short time frame or we will have no choice but to explore the WTO option."
The status quo "could do economic damage to Canada," he added, explaining that most foreign trips to the United States, which has been christened a favorable vacation spot by Beijing, include a stopover in Canada.
Emerson refused to "speculate" on the reasons behind the stalemate, but observers have suggested Ottawa's fierce human rights criticisms of China may have hit a nerve.
"Sure, we're hearing people express concern that there may be some atmospheric frictions out there that they're a little bit concerned about, but (Chinese officials) are wanting to move on," commented Emerson.
In October, Beijing protested a meeting between Prime Minister Stephen Harper and the Dalai Lama in October, claiming the Nobel laureate is a dangerous figure agitating for Tibetan independence.
The same month, Canada announced it would veto foreign takeovers of Canadian firms over national security concerns, if warranted.
As well, it set out terms and conditions under which foreign state-owned companies -- sometimes guided by political motives -- would be allowed to acquire assets in Canada.
Although most believed the new rules aimed to curb Chinese investment in Canada, particularly by the state-owned China Investment Corporation, Emerson dismissed their suspicions.
"Canada is anxious to have Chinese investments," he insisted.
The buyout guidelines "are designed not to discourage acquisitions by state-owned enterprises, but to ensure that when those companies acquire Canadian companies that they have governance systems and transparency arrangements in place and that they are operating as an economic, commercial corporation not as a political arm," he said. |
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