B.C. Premier David Eby reveals few details about trade mission to China after trip cut short

Premier David Eby speaks alongside Prime Minister Mark Carney in Vancouver this week. Photo by Government of British Columbia

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A high-profile trip to China by B.C. Premier David Eby was cut short this week after the province reached a wide-ranging agreement with the federal government on major infrastructure spending.

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Spanning only three days, information provided by the premier’s office indicated that the two key focuses were on expanding Chinese purchases of B.C. wood and convincing that country’s oil and gas giant PetroChina to sign off on a final investment for the LNG Canada 2 project at Kitimat.

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The final investment decision is expected in September, but there remains little indication of which way it will go, with a supply glut in the worldwide natural gas market potentially complicating the plan.

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Besides PetroChina, Eby also met with China’s housing and urban-rural development minister Ni Hong on June 29 to promote B.C. forestry and the benefits of using B.C. wood and wood products for home construction.

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On June 30, Eby met with “two major players in the energy market” to discuss B.C. LNG, but would not say who the players were. On the last day of his trip, Eby met with a number of companies, including Anhui Cahome Smart Co. and Jiangsu Communication Clean Energy Technology Co., that the premier’s office said have interest in expanding into B.C.

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The premier also apparently made a visit to the East China Architectural Design And Research Institute to promote B.C. wood, while Transportation and Transit Minister Mike Farnworth attended a networking reception to promote B.C. products, including seafood, processed foods and beverage and natural health products to Chinese importers.

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Altogether, the mission included stops in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou.

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Eby said prior to the trip that he hoped to return to China with Prime Minister Mark Carney in November as part of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum.

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“Ultimately, we would love to see China drop their remaining tariffs on areas like seafood that are impacting us and our producers here, and ensuring that we have open lines of communication for businesses that are working in China and vice versa, to make sure that we’re able to pursue any opportunities we can,” said Eby.

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