Trade Minister to Promote Canadian IT in China
The federal trade minister is promoting China as a key market for Canadian technology as that country is being outed as a hacker hotbed.
Ed Fast says he’s headed to China and Japan in April to promote Canadian information communications technology.
In China, Fast will visit three cities, including Shanghai, the home of a military unit linked this week to cyber-espionage activities targeting companies around the globe.
Fast says he’s going to Shanghai in particular because it’s an important area for the development of IT for business and mobile applications.
He’ll also visit Hangzhou and Hong Kong as well as Japan to focus on medical imaging technology, along with business leaders from those industries.
Fast’s trade mission is his first to China since his visit with the prime minister last year.
A foreign investment and promotion agreement between Canada and China\ that was the centrepiece of Harper’s 2012 trip has yet to be ratified.
China a hot export market for Canada
Still, statistics show that in 2012, China surpassed the United Kingdom to become the second-largest destination for Canada’s exports.
The Canadian information communication sector saw revenues of about $162 billion in 2011 and Chinese demand for related products is booming.
– Canadian Press