By Sarah Kutulakos
CCBC Executive Director & COO

Thanks to the support of BMO, CPKC, and Air Canada (and the consummate arrangements by CCBC Shanghai director Edward Dai), 17 member representatives from a range of sectors and company sizes joined me to explore three cities in the Greater Bay Area from April 13-17 in Hong Kong, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen. The full schedule can be found at this link. My goal in leading this trip was to learn more about the evolution of this mega-region (which compares itself to city-regions like Tokyo and New York City) and how its policies can benefit companies, especially in financial services or technology sectors. We wanted to observe how Canadian companies are navigating this market and how Chinese companies based here are innovating and globalizing. We achieved this through a 4.5-day, three-city agenda with 16 discrete activities.

Highlights of the trip included:

• Interaction with Canadian technology companies at exhibitions and competitions in Hong Kong and Shenzhen

• Meetings with central, provincial, and local government officials, including:
  • • MOFCOM Vice Minister WANG Shouwen, who was visiting the Canton Fair

• • LIN Shou, Deputy Governor of Guangdong

• • The GBA office in Guangzhou

• • Guangdong Provincial Financial Services Office
  • Guangzhou Commerce Bureau

• • WU Kunsheng, Deputy Secretary General of the Shenzhen Municipality

• Visits with Canadian consuls general in Hong Kong and Guangzhou

• A guided tour of the Canton Fair and participation in the opening banquet of the 135^th fair. This longstanding exhibition has been working hard to modernize and stay relevant as China’s role in sourcing has changed, and also includes imports to China. More importantly, our delegates found that Canton Fair officials are very supportive in helping them find the right sourcing partners in the region. We are looking forward to hosting CHU Shijia, Chairman and President, China Foreign Trade Centre, Ltd., the organizer of Canton Fair, on May 24 in Toronto – members are encouraged to join this session, even if their interest in China does not involve sourcing.

• A visit to CCBC member FountainVest Partners in Hong Kong (CEO Frank Tang was a favourite speaker at last year’s AGM), which is part of a consortium that owns Canadian outerwear company Arc’teryx. The growth of Arc’teryx in China following that acquisition has been spectacular.

• A mindblowing visit to Shenzhen Grandsun Electronics, whose net-zero factory is built in and around a forest and whose office is dominated by plants, making it a very appealing environment to work. Grandsun, which has a leading patent portfolio in the audio equipment industry, makes the brand Cleer. In addition to their net-zero facility, the company was preparing for the April 22 Earth Day launch of the world’s first zero-carbon open-ear earbuds. Their new line achieved its carbon neutrality certificate through the use of recyclable materials, green electricity and equipment that consumes less power. We hear a lot about China’s goals to peak carbon emissions by 2030 and reach neutrality by 2060; it was interesting for the group to see just how individual companies are putting these goals into action.

• A tour of BYD’s headquarters, including test drives of their latest EVs (mine did a 360-degree turn at the push of a button) and a “nail penetration test” that compares BYD’s non-flammable blade battery to an NCM EV battery. Suffice it to say, I know which battery I would want in my car in case of an accident!

• A boat ride to and seafood dinner on Lamma Island in Hong Kong, graciously hosted by Callan Anderson and Ken Deayton of Hong Kong Corporate Services. The fact that Ken owns the boat and the Australian vineyard that produced the wines we drank was an extra bonus!

• Experiencing the burgeoning infrastructure of the region, including the Hong Kong–Zhuhai–Macau Bridge and the 10-minute fast train from Shenzhen to Hong Kong.

• And finally, opportunities to interact with local members of CanCham HK and CanCham PRD.

We are very grateful for all the hospitality we received and for the strong relationships that developed between delegates. We will be offering more such member trips in the near future. Let us know what regions you would like to visit!