Canada China Business Council (CCBC)

[SOLD OUT] China Export Opportunities Seminar: Unlocking Business Potential
2024-10-09 12:45 - 15:00 (America/Vancouver) | Kelowna Downtown Library, Classroom 1 (second floor), 1380 Ellis Street, Kelowna, BC, V1Y 2A2, Canada
Join CCBC in Kelowna on October 9 for an insightful seminar on navigating business opportunities with China. This event will provide companies with essential knowledge and strategies to prepare for exporting to the Chinese market. The seminar will cover a range of topics designed to help your company expand and grow in an international market:

Business Opportunities: Why the China market is particularly advantageous for BC and the Okanagan region.
Challenges and Risks: Understanding the potential pitfalls and how to navigate them.
Marketing and E-commerce: Insights into digital strategies for success in China.
Intellectual Property: Protecting your assets in an international market.

Who should attend? Companies offering a product, service, or technology for the Chinese market. No prior experience with China is necessary.
This session offers valuable networking and collaboration opportunities, making it ideal for companies considering or planning future business with China while encouraging participants to look beyond current limitations. Engaging with experts on China now will help your business lay the groundwork for successful market entry when the time is right, as pursuing opportunities in China requires careful planning and long-term strategy. Don’t miss this opportunity to expand your business horizons and make meaningful connections.

Tickets:
Free for CCBC Members and Non-members. For any questions, please contact Lotta Ygartua, Regional Director, Western Canada, at lotta@ccbc.com.
About the Speakers:
Raeanne Anderson
Export Advisor
Export Navigator
With over 20 years of export experience, Raeanne Anderson is highly accomplished in the exporting world. She’s worked alongside international agrifood industry powerhouses helping them expand their markets. Whether it was contract negotiations, logistical problem solving, or networking at tradeshows and conferences, she has seen and done it all. Being fluent in both Spanish and English allowed her to connect companies with global customers in North America, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand. She also helped these companies understand and comply with rigid quality control regulations when crossing borders. Ms. Anderson’s knowledge of exporting’s complexities lends itself to assisting businesses in a clear, concise way.

Benjamin Donahue (BBA)
Export Sales
Jealous Fruits
Benajmin Donahue is a seasoned international sales and marketing professional with many years of experience developing relationships across North America, Asia, and the Middle East. With a background in international trade, he specializes in creating and executing strategic sales plans that drive growth in global markets for the fresh produce sector.
After finishing his degree, he worked at BC Tree Fruits and developed a direct export program for Canadian apples to Asia. After the success with Canadian apples, he moved to Terra Exports, a produce brokerage in the US. At Terra Exports, Mr. Donahue was tasked with sourcing and developing relationship with growers in North America, Australia and New Zealand developing sales and marketing channels for their products throughout Asia and the Middle East. During his time at Terra Exports, he was made Country Manager for all sourcing regions for Vietnam and secured retailer vendor codes for many major retailers across Asia. Now in his current role with Jealous Fruits, he is in charge of maintaining and developing all offshore sales channels. Jealous Fruits is Canada’s largest vertically integrated cherry producer shipping to over 18 countries.

Professor Gordon Houlden
Director Emeritus of the China Institute
Professor of Political Science
Adjunct Professor of the Alberta School of Business
University of Alberta
Gordon Houlden is Director Emeritus of the China Institute, Professor of Political Science and Adjunct Professor of the Alberta School of Business at the University of Alberta.
Professor Houlden joined the Canadian Foreign Service in 1976, serving in Ottawa and abroad. Twenty-two of his years in the Canadian Foreign Service were spent working on Chinese economic, trade and political affairs for the Government of Canada including five postings in China. He also served at the Canadian Embassy in Havana and Warsaw, and at Canada National Defence College. His last assignment before joining UAlberta in 2008 was as Director General of the East Asian Bureau of the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, responsible for Greater China, Japan, the Koreas and Mongolia.
Under Professor Houlden’s leadership, the China Institute has focused on contemporary China studies, with an emphasis on Canada’s trade, investment and energy linkages with the PRC, and Asian security issues.

Chloe Martin
Director of Sales Operations
WPIC Marketing + Technologies
Chloe Martin is the Director of Sales Operations at WPIC, where she oversees the sales and business development teams, driving strategic initiatives that help global brands expand into the APAC region. With a keen focus on digital marketing, eCommerce, and cross-border trade, Ms. Martin ensures WPIC’s teams deliver tailored solutions that enhance market penetration across China, Japan, and other key APAC markets. Her passion for blending technology with commerce empowers businesses to thrive in one of the world’s most competitive regions.

Amber Piché
Export Advisor
Export Navigator
An entrepreneur at heart, Amber Piché has had the privilege of working with a range of organizations, from non-profits to multinational corporations. Born and raised in the Thompson-Okanagan, Ms. Piché started out in the food and beverage industry, specifically wine, tea, and hospitality. Following this valuable experience, Ms. Piché worked in international business development in ICT and tech, created a successful start-up in the events industry, and grew a network of contacts across the globe. Whether your business is just starting out or fully established, Ms. Piché can help your company reach its export potential.

Lotta Ygartua
Regional Director, Western Canada
Canada China Business Council
As Regional Director of Western Canada, Lotta Ygartua is responsible for building the CCBC membership base throughout the region by connecting Canadian and Chinese businesses, promoting Canada-China bilateral trade, organizing events and supporting the delivery of member services. Ms. Ygartua has over 10 years of marketing experience in the technology, marketing research, communications and art sectors. Prior to joining the CCBC, she was Marketing Manager at the China-Britain Business Council based in the UK, promoting trade and business with China and organizing high-calibre events involving the Chinese Premier and the Prime Minister of Great Britain.
Ms. Ygartua spent several years living in China, where she studied and worked for a local company that developed products for the Chinese market. Ms. Ygartua studied Mandarin at the University of Nanjing and Nanjing Normal University. She holds a BA in Chinese and BSc in Social and Economic Geography from Uppsala University, Sweden.

The Future Unfolds: What’s Next for Canada-China Relations?
2024-10-22 16:30 - 18:30 | McCarthy Tétrault LLP, Suite 2400, 745 Thurlow Street, Vancouver, BC, V6E 1V8, Canada
Amidst ongoing political changes, the relationship between Canada and China remains complex and dynamic. Join the Canada China Business Council (CCBC) for an exclusive evening of networking and insightful discussion on the future of Canada-China relations. Hear from leading experts as they delve into the key factors shaping this evolving landscape and offer perspectives on what lies ahead. Speakers include Timothy Cheek, Professor and Louis Cha Chair in Chinese Research, UBC; Paul Evans, Professor Emeritus at the School of Public Policy and Global Affairs, UBC; and Joyce Lee, Partner at McCarthy Tétrault LLP and CCBC Board Member.
This is a unique opportunity to engage in valuable discussions and forge connections with like-minded professionals and industry leaders that could shape the future of your business in the Canada-China context. Light refreshments will be served.
Space is limited, so please register at this link to secure your spot. For any questions, please contact Lotta Ygartua, Regional Director, Western Canada, at lotta@ccbc.com.

Address:
McCarthy Tétrault LLP
Suite 2400, 745 Thurlow Street
Vancouver, BC, V6E 1V8
Register on the 24th floor and follow directions to the Rooftop Conference Centre, Stanley Park Room.
Tickets:
• CCBC Member: $35 + tax
• Non-Members: $60 + tax
Agenda:
4:30 pm PDT: Registration
5:00 pm PDT: Event starts
6:30 pm PDT: Events ends
About the Speakers:
Timothy Cheek
Professor; Co-Director, Centre for Chinese Research, IAR; Louis Cha Chair
University of British Columbia (UBC)
Timothy Cheek is a Professor with the School of Public Policy and Global Affairs and Department of History, Louis Cha Chair in Chinese Research, and Co-Director of the Centre for Chinese Research at the Institute of Asian Research (IAR). He has been a professor at UBC since 2002, teaching in the IAR’s former Asian policy program and now in the Master of Public Policy and Global Affairs (MPPGA) program. His research, teaching and translating focus on the recent history of China, especially the role of Chinese intellectuals in the twentieth century and the history of the Chinese Communist Party.
His books include The Chinese Communist Party: A Century in Ten Lives (2021) with Klaus Mühlhahn and Hans J. van de Ven, The Intellectual in Modern Chinese History (2015), Living with Reform: China Since 1989 (2006), Mao Zedong and China’s Revolutions (2002) and Propaganda and Culture in Mao’s China (1997).
He is a 2023 Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada (RSC) in the Academy of Arts and Humanities.

Paul Evans
Professor Emeritus in the School of Public Policy and Global Affairs
University of British Columbia (UBC)
Paul Evans (PhD with distinction Dalhousie University 1982) retired from UBC in June 2023 after 43 years of university teaching. He is currently Professor Emeritus.
His academic appointments have been as follows:

Assistant Professor, Acadia University, 1980-81
Assistant, Associate and Professor, Department of Political Science, York University, 1981-97;
Director, University of Toronto – York University Joint Centre for Asia Pacific Studies, 1991-96;
Visiting Professor, Asia Center, Harvard University, 1997-99;
Acting Director, Liu Institute for Global Issues, 2004-5;
Director, Institute of Asian Research, 2008-11 and 2014;
Visiting Professor at the University of Hong Kong, 2011 and 2013;
Visiting Professor and Head of the International Academic Advisory Panel to the School of Social Sciences, Singapore Management University, 2013-16.
Visiting Pok Rafeah Chair, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 2022-23.

Between 2005 and 2008, he was seconded from UBC to serve as the Co-CEO and Chairperson of the Executive Committee of the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada. And between 2020 and 2023 he held the HSBC Chair in Asian Research at UBC.
A regionalist rather than country specialist, he has held visiting fellowships at the Australian National University (1988); National Chengchi University in Taiwan (1989); Chulalongkorn University (1989); the East-West Center (1995); and the National Institute for Research Advancement in Tokyo (1999) and spoken at more than fifty universities and think tanks across the region.
An advocate of cooperative and human security, he has been studying and promoting policy-related activity on track-two security processes and the construction of multilateral institutions since 1988. He was a co-founder of the Council for Security Cooperation in Asia Pacific (CSCAP), the Canadian Consortium on Human Security, and the co-founder of the Canada-Korea Forum. He has directed exchange and partnership projects with fifteen research institutes in Asia and the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs funded by governments and foundations in Canada, Japan, the United States, China, Taiwan, South Korea, Thailand and Indonesia. Between 1990 and 2002 he organized two dozen meetings involving participants from North Korea.
He is currently a Canadian representative on the ASEAN Regional Forum’s Experts and Eminent Persons Group.
A member of the Global Council of the Asia Society in New York, he also sits on the editorial boards of The Pacific Review, the Chinese Journal of International Politics, the China Quarterly for International Strategic Studies, and Mexico y la Cuenca del Pacifico.
His graduate and undergraduate teaching at UBC focused on Global China and World Order.
The author or editor of seven books, his first was a biography of John Fairbank, his most popular the two editions of a lexicon of Asia Pacific security terminology (with David Capie), and his most recent “Engaging China: Myth, Aspiration and Strategy in Canadian Policy from Trudeau to Harper,” published in 2014.
His recent writings and media commentaries have focused on Canada-China relations, Asian security dynamics, and the emergence of techno-nationalism as a defining force in regional affairs. Some of them are available here and on his blog. His condensed academic CV is available here, and his complete academic CV is available here.
He is married to Catherine Evans and they plan to remain resident in Vancouver.

Joyce Lee
Partner
McCarthy Tétrault LLP
Director
CCBC Board of Directors
Joyce Lee brings a unique perspective to her practice, skillfully uniting Canadian companies seeking Chinese investors with Chinese companies looking to expand into North America. She also regularly advises corporate executives in the financial sector about taking advantage of opportunities and navigating risk.
Born and raised in Hong Kong and with over 20 years experience working in the North American marketplace, Ms. Lee has both the cultural and business skills necessary to view potential deals from each party’s perspective. Her communication skills – she speaks English, Mandarin and Cantonese fluently – smoothly guide Asian companies into Canada, including joint ventures in mining and other natural resources sectors; and, the technology, life science and real estates industries.
Leadership teams from across Canada and Asia, including public companies listed on TSX, NYSE, HK Stock Exchange, Shanghai Stock Exchange, Shenzhen Stock Exchange asset management companies and investment firms, frequently solicit Ms. Lee’s advice on how to grow their business and make strategic moves in the marketplace, whether within Canada or abroad. She has earned the trust of some of the biggest players in the industry by successfully strategizing with them on:

structuring and carrying out domestic and cross border mergers, acquisitions and reorganizations;
advising on securities regulatory issues for registrants, investment dealers and investment advisors;
advising on take-over bids (for both targets and offerors);
advising on public offerings and private placements for issuers in various industries, including mining and resources, technology, real estate development, services and education;
advising on various investment transactions of foreign companies into Canada, including joint ventures in mining and other natural resources sectors, automobile sector, forestry sector and technology sector;
advising on investment transactions of Canadian companies into the Greater China region;
structuring and advising on executive and employee compensation and incentive plans for Canadian and international companies; and
advising on going private transactions, corporate governance, continuous disclosure issues and proxy contests.
