Press release
The Mayor of Montréal announces the program of his
economic, institutional, and cultural mission to China
Montréal, March 29, 2010 – From May 8 to 18, the Mayor of Montréal, Mr. Gérald Tremblay, will preside over an economic, institutional, and cultural mission to China, organized by the Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal.
Accompanied by a delegation made up of Montréal business people from the educational and cultural milieus, as well as members of the Chinese community, the Mayor of Montréal intends to support the business efforts of Montréal industrial clusters, companies, and organizations in three Chinese cities: Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Guangzhou. During this mission, the Mayor also intends to promote Montréal, stimulate increased trade with China, and encourage Chinese entrepreneurs to invest in Montréal.
“China has become one of the world’s strongest economies. It is a key partner. It must therefore be at the core of our development strategies. The goal of the mission: to create lasting business ties and to develop markets in order to improve the competitive position of Montréal-based companies. Montréal has some wonderful assets: our creativity, our ability to create areas of collaboration. And, of course, our talent: a highly qualified workforce, and extraordinary creative people,” declared the Mayor of Montréal, Mr. Gérald Tremblay.
The delegation will first make its way to Hong Kong, where several meetings are scheduled between people from the Montréal business community and Chinese companies. For Montréal, Hong Kong offers a wealth of business opportunities, especially since it is planning to open a trade office in Montréal.
“The Chinese market is teeming with very interesting business opportunities for our entrepreneurs. The mission will give participating companies a unique opportunity to make themselves known to authorities, and to meet individually with potential clients and partners. The support of the Mayor of Montréal is very valuable for SMEs that are attempting to make initial contact in an effort to enter this vast market,” stated the President and CEO of the Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal, Mr. Michel Leblanc.
The delegation will then visit the city of Shanghai, the most dynamic and prosperous city in the country, with which Montréal has had a special friendship and business relationship for the past 25 years. In this country in which institutional and human relations are inseparable from business, the bond of friendship that Montréal and Shanghai have built is a valuable asset that must be preserved and enhanced. In addition to the many business meetings on the program, Mr. Tremblay will give a talk at a luncheon before Chinese and Canadian business people in Shanghai, and will do the same in Hong Kong and Guangzhou.
At the official invitation of his counterpart, the Mayor of Shanghai, Mr. Han Zheng, Mr. Tremblay will take part in the official inauguration of Espace Montréal at Expo 2010 in Shanghai. He will also take part in the celebration of Montréal Day, which will take place on the Expo site on May 14. This day, made up of events focusing on circus arts, street performance, music, and contemporary art, will kick off Montréal’s outreach initiative on the Expo site, and will serve as an occasion for the two mayors to sign a renewed agreement of cooperation aimed at encouraging and supporting exchanges between the two cities, and at stimulating the realization of concrete projects.
Since the signing of the first agreement in 1985, exchanges between the two cities have enabled several projects to come to light, both in Montréal (the Chinese Garden at the Botanical Garden, the entry gates and Sun Yat-Sen Square in Chinatown) and in Shanghai (the Montréal Garden at Pudong Century Park), in addition to encouraging several exchanges of technology in the areas of archive management, city planning, civil defence, waste management, sports, and culture.
At the end of his mission in China, the Mayor will be in Guangzhou, the third largest city in the country, better known here as Canton, where various meetings are planned in order to promote Montréal on the economic, tourism, and institutional levels, notably in the field of education.
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Source: Office of the Mayor and of the Executive Committee
Darren Becker
514 872-6412
Information: Media Relations
François Goneau
514 868-5859
Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal
Sylvie Paquette
514 871-4000, extension 4015