CCBC held a Lunar New Year cocktail reception on Wednesday, January 31, 2024, in Montreal at National Bank of Canada. Over 100 CCBC members and guests gathered for the occasion. The event provided a unique opportunity to explore insights gathered from CCBC’s Canada-China Business Survey 2022/2023, following the official report launch in Toronto on January 25. Conducted in collaboration with the Rotman Institute for International Business, this biennial survey examines the perspectives and interests within the Canada-China business community. Sarah Kutulakos, CCBC Executive Director and COO, shared report highlights, and attendees heard insights on the past sentiments of both Canadian and Chinese companies, exploring the intricacies of their experiences and attitudes towards bilateral business, trade, and investment, both in the present and future.

 

We were honoured to have H.E. CONG Peiwu, Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China to Canada, provide guest remarks for the occasion, along with remarks from Olivier Desmarais, CCBC Board of Directors Chair, and Vincent Joli-Coeur, Vice-Chairman, Financial Markets, National Bank of Canada.

 

The networking cocktail reception featured a premium Chinese liquor courtesy of Langjiu and included various lucky draws for exciting prizes, creating a festive atmosphere in celebration of Lunar New Year. Congratulations to our lucky draw winners!

 

CCBC also hosted a roundtable discussion for CCBC members with Ambassador CONG Peiwu to discuss Canada-China trade, and the economic and investment outlook in China, before the event.

 

Click here to see more photos.

 

 

Venue:
National Bank of Canada
600 de la Gauchetiere Street West
Montreal, Quebec

 

Special Guest Remarks:

 

H.E. CONG Peiwu
Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China to Canada

 

Ambassador CONG was born in May 1967. He graduated from China Foreign Affairs University. Mr. CONG is married and has one daughter. His professional career is as follows:

• 1992-1993 Staff member, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China
• 1993-2000 Staff member, Attaché, Third Secretary, Deputy Division Director, Department of North American and Oceanian Affairs, MFA
• 2000-2003 Second Secretary, First Secretary, Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in Canada
• 2003-2007 First Secretary, Deputy Division Director, Division Director, Counsellor and Division Director, Department of North American and Oceanian Affairs, MFA
• 2007-2009 Counsellor, Department of North American and Oceanian Affairs, MFA
• 2009-2014 Minister-Counsellor, Minister, Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
• 2014-2019: Director-General, Department of North American and Oceanian Affairs, MFA
• 2019-present: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the People’s Republic of China to Canada

About the Speakers:

 

Olivier Desmarais
Board of Directors Chair, Canada China Business Council
Senior Vice-President, Power Corporation
Chairman and CEO, Power Sustainable

 

Mr. Desmarais has been Senior Vice-President of Power Corporation since 2017. Mr. Desmarais is the driving force behind the Power Sustainable vision as a global, sustainability-led alternative asset manager.

 

He chairs the Canada China Business Council (CCBC) and also sits on the boards of directors of Canada Life, IG Wealth Management, Mackenzie and Lumenpulse.

 

He is actively engaged in the community as member of the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research.

 

Mr. Desmarais holds a Bachelor of Civil Law from the University of Ottawa, a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology and Political Science from McGill University, and has been a Québec Bar member since 2009.

 

 

Vincent Joli-Coeur
Vice-Chairman, Financial Markets
National Bank of Canada

 

Vincent Joli-Coeur joined National Bank of Canada in 2011 as Vice-Chairman Financial Markets. He is responsible for senior coverage of our corporate, government, and institutional clients.

 

In his career of 30 years in the financial services field, Mr. Joli-Coeur has acted as a trusted advisor to large Canadian and International companies in various industries and has been involved in some of Canada’s largest capital markets and infrastructure financings. Recently, Mr. Joli-Coeur led the team behind National Bank of Canada’s successful inaugural Panda Bond issuance of RMB3.5 billion in the People’s Republic of China, the first issuance of its kind for a North American bank.

 

In addition to his professional activities, Mr. Joli-Coeur is also actively involved in his community. He served as Chairman of the Board of Directors of Université de Sherbrooke. He is also involved in several charitable organizations’ financing campaigns.

 

Mr. Joli-Coeur has a Master’s degree in business administration from Université Paris Dauphine in France.

 

 

Sarah Kutulakos
Executive Director and COO
Canada China Business Council

 

Sarah Kutulakos joined the CCBC in 2007 and has since revitalized CCBC’s role as Canada’s premier bilateral trade and investment organization. Ms. Kutulakos has re-centered the Council’s activities around providing business services, catalyzing business growth and activity, and advocating for stronger Sino-Canadian bilateral trade and investment. This has resulted in extensive public outreach activities, internal infrastructure improvements, the launch of new programs such as the Business Incubation Centre, and thriving member relations.

 

Prior to joining CCBC, Ms. Kutulakos worked for 11 years in marketing, product development, and management with a major multinational corporation, where she had multiple assignments involving China. Ms. Kutulakos managed worldwide product businesses that marketed to China and used China-based sources of supply. She was also involved in several projects requiring cooperation with the Chinese government. Ms. Kutulakos has led both established and start-up businesses within the context of a global corporation and has broad emerging market business experience, and has been involved in the Greater China region since the late 1980s when she lived and worked in Taiwan. There, she was the first non-Chinese employee of a local high-tech start-up firm, where she gained a deep understanding of Chinese business practices.

 

A fluent Mandarin speaker, Ms. Kutulakos’s interest in China began at the University of Wisconsin, where she studied Chinese, marketing, and international business. She holds an MBA in finance and operations from the Simon School of Business at the University of Rochester. She frequently speaks on China issues, including marketing, trade, investment, and Canada-China relations.