Page 117 - Azerbaijan State University of Economics

THE JOURNAL OF ECONOMIC SCIENCES: THEORY AND PRACTICE, V.71, # 1, 2014, pp. 99-119

7. The government should bear in mind issues of reciprocity. Convincing the Chinese

government to allow Canadian firms to invest in China can be mutually-beneficial. The

Canadian government must communicate to China the benefits that Canadian companies can

bring to the table in terms of business practices and ethics.

Conclusion

Benjamin Franklin’s quote that “no nation was ever ruined by trade” is relevant to the

discussion of Sino-Canadian FDI. While the stakes are far from ruinous, the issue is

nevertheless contentious. We advocate the mindset of “economic realism” as purported by

Professor Wong that recognizes the geopolitical and economic importance of China and seeks to

adopt slow and steady steps toward a sophisticated and mutually-beneficial trading relationship.

The view advanced by Diane Francis is that shortcomings with FIPA warrant simply abandoning

it. This is reminiscent of idealism, and is not advisable. Ultimately, via strategic political

planning within Canada’s corporate and governmental sectors to both open the door yet insist on

good manners, seeking to dispel unjust perceptions, fighting for solid economic principles and

finally working with Chinese firms to ensure more cultural sensitivity is demonstrated on both

parties’ behalf is crucial. The importance of trade and free-flows of capital cannot be overstated,

and China is a player of significance in both areas. In essence, Chinese FDI is a phenomenon

that may be leveraged to strengthen both countries simultaneously. Chinese FDI deserves an

objective audience as it is not intrinsically bad. Anything less is unfortunately reminiscent of the

zero-sum game economics of mercantilist theories from centuries past.

Literature

[1] http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/1999/china.50/inside.china/profiles/deng.xiaoping/
[2] http://www.economist.com/node/21542931

[3] http://www.economist.com/node/21542931

117