Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson.Jeff Vinnick
The last time Gregor Robertson visited China, almost a quarter century ago, he and his then-girlfriend travelled by bike and bus around a country that was just tiptoeing into the modern era.
This Saturday, Mr. Robertson, now the mayor of Vancouver, will head back for 12 days to a country that has transformed itself into an economic powerhouse since 1986. It's also a country interested in going green, so the mayor hopes that his presence will help land contracts for environmentally minded businesses in at home.
"They already have connections, but what they need is improved access to government officials and state-owned enterprises. I open those doors as mayor, so there's a big boost to their efforts to grow," said Mr. Robertson, who will visit solar and wind farms, the Shanghai World's Fair, and four cities on his trip.
Along for part of the trip will be people from 22 local businesses and organizations, including Rainmaker Entertainment and Atomic Cartoon from the digital-media industry, MagPower Systems and Westport Innovations from the clean-energy sector, and the green-architecture firm of Busby Perkins + Will.
Mr. Robertson is convinced that contracts will be signed either during the visit or shortly after, even though B.C.'s efforts to promote trade through sister-city relationships has historically not produced spectacular results.
"We expect to ink deals there and soon after," he said, adding that Vancouver's timing is ideal because it is still riding on momentum from the Olympics.
He said he's convinced China is really committed to looking for new, sustainable ways to expand its economy while adapting to new environmental standards.
"There's a very explicit commitment from the Premier to this. They realize China's future hinges on their ability to marry environmental and economic initiatives. We have good intelligence that this is a priority."
He said the city is putting in $45,000 for the trip, while local businesses are contributing $350,000, but "we expect a huge multiple of that in business deals."
Strong trade links between B.C. and China have always been a dream for local politicians. B.C. exports to China have risen to $2.5-billion in 2009 from $582-million in 1999, but a large part of that has traditionally been raw materials like coal, copper and wood.
Going to China has become almost a rite of passage for Vancouver mayors. NPA mayor Sam Sullivan went for 20 days in the summer of 2008 as part of the Beijing Paralympics.
COPE mayor Larry Campbell and councillor Raymond Louie went on a five-day trade-promotion trip in 2005.
It will be the first publicized trip by B.C. municipal politicians since CSIS director Richard Fadden said last June that foreign governments were "wielding influence" over Canadian politicians. He specifically mentioned B.C. municipal politicians, which provoked angry and puzzled reactions in Vancouver.
Mr. Robertson said that incident hasn't been a factor in any of the planning for the trip. The Vancouver visitors will pay all their own expenses. That's in contrast to some trips taken by Lower Mainland politicians in recent years, which were paid in part by Chinese companies.
Mr. Robertson's family tree contains a man well-known in China: Dr. Norman Bethune, who helped set up medical services for the Chinese Communist army as it was fighting Japan.
Dr. Bethune's name hasn't been invoked yet to open any doors, but the connection is likely to prompt a special stream of media coverage, as it has among Vancouver's Chinese media.