Despite Years of Wooing Chinese Market, Canada is Falling Behind Rest of World in Trade with China

(MarketWire – The Fraser Institute)

Canadian trade with China represents just a miniscule portion of Canada's overall international trade and the country has a long way to go to fully take advantage of the opportunities presented by one of the world's fastest growing markets, concludes a new study released today by independent research organization the Fraser Institute.

Just two per cent of Canadian exports were sent to China in 2007 (the last year of available data at the time the report was written) compared to 80% of Canadian goods exported to the United States. In terms of imports, Canada imported nine per cent of its goods from China, with more than 50% originating in the United States.

"For many years now, we've been hearing about the opportunities presented by the Chinese market. Yet so far, Canadian companies have failed to fully capitalize on these opportunities," said Mark Mullins, Fraser Institute executive director. "And while many Canadians may think everything we buy is 'Made in China', the reality is far from the truth. Even though China's share of Canadian trade has tripled in the past decade, it is relatively small and narrowly based."

The study, Canada's Economic Relations With China, is the first attempt to quantify the flows of goods, services and people between Canada and China. The complete report is available at http://www.fraserinstitute.org.