June 23, 2003

Minister Graham Presentation

Minister Graham’s presentation on June 23, 2003

Ladies and gentlemen,
It is a pleasure for me to be here in Beijing on my first visit since becoming Foreign
Minister. I have had the pleasure of visiting China on several previous occasions
including one wonderful trip when I was Chair of SCFAIT and my wife and I and our
delegation had the chance to visit Beijing, Xian, the Li River, Guilin, Chongqing and
Shanghai. It is a particular honour to be back now in my current capacity.
Two days ago in Phnom Penh, I had the chance to meet and establish a personal
relationship with your Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing at the ASEAN Regional Forum.
Throughout the meetings and events, everyone was really struck by his open manner
and ready sense of humour and, on the night of the banquet, his spontaneity and
candour impressed us all.
So when I came to Beijing, I already felt like a friend, a feeling that was reinforced today,
as we held in-depth discussions on how Canada and China can be more effective
partners in addressing our common global challenges. I believe that the nature of our
personal relationship – readily established, open, friendly and genuinely interested in
one another’s perspective – reflects that between China and Canada, Chinese and
Canadians from all parts of our societies.
As a Canadian, I think of how much delight we take in our Chinese hosts’ remembrance
of the role that Dr. Norman Bethune played in your history, or the present role that
someone like Da Shan (Mark Rosewell) plays, living in both Beijing and Toronto – a
constant reminder of just how integrated we are. I am personally reminded of this every
time I talk to our Governor General who, as you know, came to Canada as a refugee
from Hong Kong during World War II, or when I visit that part of Chinatown that is
located in my own constituency of Toronto Centre- Rosedale.
I must say that I am also very pleased to have had the opportunity to meet with China’s
new government leadership, including Premier Wen Jiabao, so soon after the transition.
Having this chance to discuss Canadian foreign policy with government and academic
experts here is a further privilege, one that I hope will be mutually beneficial.
Every country’s foreign policy is grounded in part on its vision of the world. Both of our
countries are well aware that the world we now live in presents challenges scarcely
imagined 20 or 30 years ago. Emblematic of this new world is the fact that SARS has
been the first major challenge faced by China’s new leadership. This disease has hurt
both of our countries; it has also taught us that only through cooperation can we
succeed in controlling its outbreak. Canada has already provided assistance to five
projects aimed at preventing and controlling SARS in rural areas of China.
And it is my pleasure to announce today that Canada will be contributing an additional
$5 million to China’s National SARS and Infectious Disease Response program. We will
continue to work with China to strengthen your capacity to deal with this and other
infectious diseases and in so doing we will know that we are contributing to our own
security and the security of many other countries as well.
At the Asian Regional Forum, the Foreign Minister of Singapore and I together
marvelled at the fact that one person in one elevator in Hong Kong infected two other
people: one of them brought unforeseen stress to the health system of Canada, the
other to Singapore. They both are unknowingly at the origin of a yet undetermined but
clearly enormous health and financial hardship to thousands of people in our two
countries. As a disease, SARS may be atypical in its virulence, but it is very typical of
the new order of international challenges facing us in a globalized, interdependent
world.
We know that such problems on a global scale can be tackled only by taking
international strategies down to a national, regional and local level. Consider
some of the most urgent crises now facing the world: vast environmental degradation;
endemic poverty in Africa and elsewhere, contrasting with great wealth in other parts of
the world; health pandemics such as HIV/AIDS; the existence of weapons of mass
destruction; and transnational organized crime and terrorism.
This daunting list points toward three key issues. First, as I have said, problems of
global scope are being felt locally around the world. The political burdens and
challenges they create are local as well as global.
A second point integral to Canadian’s perspective is that such conditions of
interdependence and complexity highlight the need for strong institutions of global
governance. Only such institutions can coordinate collective efforts to pursue global
goods such as peace, security, justice, public health, and a clean environment.
And a third point Canadians believe strongly in is that civil society and NGOs must be
involved in policy making at all levels of government if these policies are to be effective.
Foreign policy today is no longer the preserve of elites, dealing with far-off issues
distant from the everyday realities of citizens. Foreign policy today is about issues
directly affecting people in their daily lives; people, then, must be involved in
the decisions affecting them.
Let me first expand on the importance of multilateral approaches in addressing our new
security concerns. Recent episodes of international terrorism have given us all a new
sense of our vulnerability to forces and events beyond our borders. In this critical area
of security, as well as in trade, health and the environment, Canadians are committed to
a multilateral approach. We believe that working through global institutions is the best
way to secure a safer, healthier and more prosperous world for people everywhere. We
must work multilaterally to build institutions capable of addressing the social, political
and economic instabilities that may fuel conflict and unrest. We must explore ways to
ensure our security with a long- term view – one recognizing that where there is good
governance, democracy and respect for human rights, we find stable, prosperous and
secure states.
China shares our commitment to multilateralism, and Canada is seeking more active
ways of building on this common approach to promote our common goals. For example,
both Canada and China have participated in UN peacekeeping operations in the Congo,
and this is only one of many ways in which we must cooperate to address endemic
threats to the security of individuals in Africa, a continent whose future concerns us all.
Collective security is, of course, more than just post-conflict peacekeeping. When we
speak of new instruments for our collective security, we also must recognize the new
challenges that we face from terrorism. After the events of September 11, Canada
immediately joined the United States to pursue those responsible in Afghanistan. China
too became more active in intelligence-sharing and in addressing terrorist financing.
Today we face a much more difficult and complicated task: devising a response to
terrorism that enhances both national and individual security. Though we cannot
hesitate to act whenever it is necessary, we must also recognize our response to
terrorism must be consistent with the values of democracy, human rights,
and respect for the rule of law.
We share the concerns of former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Mary
Robinson regarding the counter-productive consequences of excessive measures taken
in several parts of the world to combat terrorism, and we have stated our position clearly
in Geneva at the Human Rights Commission: the fight against terrorism must not be
used as a pretext for repression. The need to ensure the security of individuals
alongside the security of states requires us to fight both the evils of international
terrorism and the abuse of fundamental human rights. The former is unlikely to succeed
if we do not pay attention to the latter.
We know that security for individuals is inseparably bound up with social stability as
well. In societies that respect human rights and fundamental freedoms, dissent tends to
take constructive and non-violent forms. In states where national authorities impose
social order by suppressing individual rights, short-term gains may be made; but these
solutions come at the expense of long-term stability.
For pursuing collective security, in the fight against terrorism and elsewhere, the most
important international organization today remains the United Nations. It is here that
much of our effort to increase transparency, accountability and effectiveness must be
directed.
As a permanent and increasingly active member of the Security Council, China shares
our view of ensuring that the legitimacy and relevance of the UN is maintained. Our two
countries also have similar approaches to many regional issues, particularly the Middle
East and North Korea. Canada appreciates that China is playing an active and central
role in promoting dialogue and strengthened security in these regions.
Of course, China and Canada share a vital bilateral relationship beyond the field of
multilateral cooperation. Some 150 years ago, the first Chinese immigrants came to
Canada to start new lives and to help build our country. Conditions at first were harsh
and, in early days, highly discriminatory; but now the Chinese community is an integral
part of the Canadian social fabric, numbering over one million
people. As I mentioned earlier, the most prominent is our head of state, Governor
General Adrienne Clarkson, whose parents were Chinese. But we have also had
numerous Senators, Ministers, Members of Parliament and other public figures of
Chinese ancestry who have played a central role in Canadian society. My own
city of Toronto has been transformed in recent years by the arrival of immigrants from all
parts of the world, but particularly from Asia. Today some 400 thousand people of
Chinese origin live in Toronto and I am proud to say that there are some 5000 in my
own riding of Toronto-Centre Rosedale. This strong presence ensures that what
happens in China is of great interest to Canadians, and the significant media coverage
of China in Canada reflects this interest. I am reminded of this on many occasions, such
as when I am “scrummed” by the Chinese language media in Toronto, attend
community events such as the opening of the new offices of the Sing Tao newspaper,
participate in the dragon boat races in the harbour, or campaign for election among my
Chinese constituents.
Our economic partnership is also strong. China is Canada’s fourth largest export market
and third largest import market. In fact, our imports from China are growing at 25% per
year. Business people in both countries profit from the open economies we are building
according to the rules of the WTO. Increasingly, this economic exchange is going
beyond trade in goods and services into investment.
As we both strive to develop advanced, knowledge-based economies, education is a
key component of our development and partnership. Chinese students now represent
the largest group of foreign students in Canada. There are also an increasing number of
Canadian educational institutions offering joint degree programs with partners here in
China. Since China’s recent opening, Canadian institutions have educated
over 50,000 Chinese students. These students are coming home as engineers,
environmentalists and entrepreneurs to lead China’s economic, political and social
modernization. They bring back more than just their formal education. They will continue
to serve as bridges, helping to translate Canadian experiences in governance – in areas
from public administration to financial markets, agriculture, the environment and legal
systems – into domestically viable, “Made-in-China” systems.
Some 12 years ago when I was a Professor at the University of Toronto Law School, I
had first-hand experience of the benefits of such exchanges. Many of my best graduate
students were from China. Some stayed in Canada and today are enriching our society,
others returned home to bring their experience here. One summer, I lectured on
principles of international trade law to a group of Chinese bureaucrats who were
completing two years of experience in Canada, thanks to a CIDA programme that
placed them in different ministries throughout the country. As some had spent their time
in Quebec, they were fluent in French and so we taught Chinese bureaucrats in both
official languages! One year later I was invited to give a refresher course to them at the
then MOFERT Training Institute here in Beijing. It was great seeing old friends from all
parts of China and Cathy and I particularly enjoyed living for two weeks in the Beijing
suburbs, walking in the morning by a canal and sometimes taking something to eat at
the small roadside stands in the area. Canada, then, was already working with China in
many areas through our development cooperation program, which supports initiatives
from the training of judges to securities regulation and environmental governance.
Canada is also an important partner for China in transforming and
modernizing your economy, particularly in the transport, energy and financial services
sectors.
Let me highlight a few of the Canadian companies involved. Bombardier, the world’s
third largest civilian plane manufacturer and a dominant supplier of trains and urban
transit systems, has sold 52 aircraft to Chinese companies and has large assembly
plants in Shenyang and Qingdao making advanced train sets. SNC Lavalin, a global
engineering services company, is involved in dozens of projects throughout China.
AECL has designed and built two commercial nuclear reactors and is ready to work on
two more. Nortel, one of the top information technology companies in China, has
provided much of the advanced technology for China’s telecommunications network.
And Canadian companies Manulife and Sunlife are helping to develop the still nascent
but critical field of insurance in China. Such activities lead to extraordinarily close links,
links that are daily evident to me at home when I talk to my constituent Michael Wong
about his design of the stock exchanges building in Pudong, which I was able to visit, or
the President of Manulife (also in my riding) about his companies’ plans in China.
In 1970, Canada was one of the first Western countries to recognize the People’s
Republic of China, after Premier Zhou Enlai signalled China’s renewed international
engagement. The past 30 years have seen this relationship grow and mature.
With China’s cultural opening to the rest of the world, Canada has annually sponsored
over a dozen cultural groups and performers. We have also supported 40 scholarships
for Chinese students to visit Canada; and we have contributed to the circulation of ideas
in China through the publication of some 450 books in Chinese translation.
Correspondingly, Canadians citizens share the enthusiasm for discovering
China’s great civilization and its vibrant contemporary culture through scholarship
programs, movies and tourism.
For all of these reasons – history, business, culture, diplomacy and a shared global
vision – the leaders of our two countries have recognized the importance of
strengthening the Canada-China relationship. Several weeks ago in St. Petersburg,
Prime Minister Chrétien and President Hu Jintao had a warm and successful
first meeting. I myself have come to China to build on that relationship, and I certainly
hope that Minister Li Zhaoxing will be able to take up my invitation for an early visit to
Canada.
Looking at our increasing interdependence and at the incredible progress that China
has made in the last decades, I am convinced that they are but an indication of what is
possible in the years to come. Our two great countries have emerged from very different
histories, but I have illustrated in my remarks tonight that they can converge to our
mutual benefit, when we set common objectives, and devote imagination and energy to
their achievement. Any shared task must begin with a common understanding of the
future we want to construct. I regard our exchanges today and this evening as
indispensable to that purpose.
Thank you.