文/Chris Muise
译/Christine Qin Yang
A Canadian business delegation recently paid a visit to Zhuhai Port to explore opportunities to increase cargo transportation between Halifax and the Pearl River Delta of China.
近日，来自加拿大的商务代表团参观访问了珠海港口，探索增加哈利法克斯与珠江三角洲货运运输联系。
哈利法克斯市与中国珠海市在高等教育方面有着长期且紧密的合作关系。这一关系促进了两座城市的繁荣，但为了更长远的发展，新斯科舍省应调整自身的发展方向，进一步迈向中国市场。
港加商会大西洋地区分会主席卜志雨先生刚刚结束了他在珠江三角洲地区包括珠海、深圳市的贸易考察。本次考察团由哈利法克斯市港务局成员、圣玛丽大学管理人员，以及加拿大总领事组成。卜先生本次的任务是前往中国进行商贸可行性调研。
“哈利法克斯和珠海已有不少合作，大部分是在高等教育方面。十多年来，我一直致力于促进两地高等教育的合作。”卜先生认为，试探两地其他领域合作的时机已经成熟。“除了高等教育外，还有许多潜在的合作机会值得我们去探索开发。”
珠海拥有200万人口，它与哈法有许多的共同之处。它们都是海港城市，但面积都不是很大；都有许多高等教育机构，而且两座城市兼具强大的旅游产业。这些共同点促成了两座城市的贸易合作。
当前，圣玛丽大学与北京师范大学珠海校区有着2+2合作办学项目。该项目每年都为哈利法克斯带来大量中国学生。卜先生表示，教育仅仅是新斯科舍省与中国合作的一个领域。此次珠三角之行也让他发现，不管是加拿大还是新斯科舍省，在中国市场都不被熟知，缺乏代表性。
卜先生说：“这次中国行，我有机会去参观一个被朋友称作是中国最大的海鲜批发市场。那个画面让人难以置信：一个批发市场里有上千家店面，你可以看见你能想象到的任何海鲜。但是，这些海鲜很少是产自加拿大的。”
卜先生相信新斯科舍省可以向中国市场输送更多资源，例如海洋、农业产品、矿产、以及人力资源。新斯科舍省也正在为能源以及航运方面做出努力。问题是，这个调整力度尚且不够。卜先生认为：“应该有一个全局性的战略计划，而不是不同的公司有着各自的计划。”
此外，大部分贸易都是单一方向的，很多中国人前往新斯科舍省，而本地人很少出访中国。“做双边贸易，必须是你来我往。”卜先生说：“在过去20年，除了学生群体，很多珠海政府官员以及产业领导的都纷纷来我们省、我们市参观访问。他们已经来过了，现在是我们该去中国访问他们的时候了。”
而这次的商贸考察正式新斯科舍省做出改变的第一步：圣玛丽大学陪同前往，希望进一步增进与珠海地区的教育合作关系；港务局也参与本次访问团，希望推广哈利法克斯港口，寻找贸易合作机会。
在考察过程中，圣玛丽大学与北师大珠海校区签署了计算机科学专业的新的合作项目。同时，珠海、深圳也与哈利法克斯港务局也召开了具有重大指导性意义的会议。卜先生认为，为了哈利法克斯的繁荣与发展，尤其是在Ivany报告后，类似的合作应更多、更快地展开。
“我十分看好现在的形式。双方都有许多共同的兴趣，这是一个很好的标志。”卜先生接着说：“千万不能等待。在这样的市场竞争环境下，不进则退。”
几周后，卜先生将与圣玛丽大学师生再赴珠海。他希望借此机会再次促进双方现有联系，同时发展一批加拿大学生前往珠海学习。他乐观地认为，只要有配合、有耐心，哈利法克斯与珠海便能够建立紧密的政府、教育及工业等领域的合作，为促进两座城市长期的繁荣发展做贡献。
卜先生说：“我坚信两地间有许多的潜在机会以及合作的资源，而双方需要的是找到合适的渠道。” (完）
Halifax shares a long-standing bond with the city of Zhuhai, China, through connections between our higher education systems. That connection has been prosperous for both cities, but for further growth to occur, Nova Scotia needs to coordinate its efforts to market itself, and all it has to offer, to China.
Bill Bu, the President of the Hong Kong-Canada Business Association Atlantic Section, recently returned from an exploratory trade mission to the cities of Zhuhai and Shenzhen, in the Pearl River Delta area. Joined by members of the Halifax Port Authority, Saint Mary’s University administrators, and the Consul General of Canada, Bu travelled to investigate possible trade relations in the area.
“We have some existing linkages, mostly in higher education. I’ve been facilitating that kind of linkage in high education for over ten years,” says Bu, who thinks the time is right to investigate other possibilities. “There are a lot of potentials for us to explore, and not just in high education.”
Zhuhai, a city of 2 million, shares a lot of similarities to Halifax – both are coastal port cities, but aren’t too big, enjoy a lot of higher education facilities, and supports a robust tourism industry – which makes them ideal trade partners.
Currently, Halifax’s own Saint Mary’s University shares a Two-and-Two program with Zhuhai’s Beijing Normal University campus, which brings a lot of Chinese students to our city every year, sometimes to stay. But this is just one aspect of our region we have to offer China, according to Bu, and during his visit to Zhuhai, he noticed areas in which Canada and Nova Scotia are underrepresented where we don’t have to be.
“When I was in China, I got the opportunity to visit, my local friends told me, the largest seafood wholesale market in China,” says Bu. “It’s unbelievable. There’s thousands of stores under one roof. Thousands. Any seafood, almost, you can think of. There’s very few from Canada.”
Bu believes that Nova Scotia has a lot to offer China, which includes seafood, agricultural and mineral products, and human resources. We’re also upping our efforts in both the energy sector and the shipping industry. The problem, up until now, is that efforts to market the Nova Scotian package have been done without much coordination.
“You have to have a very strategic plan, rather than just one company doing one thing, another company doing another,” says Bu.
Furthermore, most of the trade has been one-sided, with a lot of Chinese visitors making their way here, but not the other way around.
“You have to do bilateral traffic; you come to me, I go to you,” says Bu. “We have received so many groups over the past 20 years from Zhuhai – not just students. Government officials. The local industrial business leaders. They already came to Halifax. It’s our turn.”
This recent trade mission was among the first steps to change all that. Saint Mary’s came along in the interest in strengthening their educational ties in the area, and the Halifax Port Authority was interested in promoting the port and finding new trade partners.
During the mission, a new agreement was signed between SMU and the Zhuhai Beijing Normal campus to promote their computer sciences program, and the port authorities of Halifax, Zhuhai and Shenzhen had productive meetings. For Halifax to grow and thrive, especially in the wake of the Ivany Report, Bu says more co-ordinated efforts like these need to happen, and they need to happen soon.
“I think what is really promising here, is that now there is growing interest from both sides, which is a very good sign,” says Bu. “Just don’t wait. If you wait, your competitors don’t wait.”
Bu already has plans to return to Zhuhai in the coming weeks with local university students and faculty, in the hopes of fostering our existing linkages, as well as convincing more Canadian students to travel to Zhuhai to further their education. He’s optimistic that, with enough cooperation and patience, Halifax and Zhuhai can forge strong governmental, educational and industrial bonds that will be prosperous for both cities.
“I strongly believe that there are potentials in both regions, and there are good resources in both regions,” says Bu. “It’s just a matter of finding a good channel.” (End)
