| | Mar 4th, 2004
| | | NB businesses get Chinese connection
| | | NB Telegraph-Journal | Local Economy
As published on page C1/C2 on March 4, 2004
INTERNATIONAL TRADE
N.B. businesses get Chinese connection
Saint John's CANLink Global opens branch office in Beijing
BY JENNIFER MALO
Telegraph-Journal
From medical technology to musical acts, a Saint John company is connecting New Brunswick firms to business opportunities in China.
Mike Tilley, president of CANLink Global, recently returned from the People's Republic where he set up a branch office in Beijing. While there, he was approached by several Chinese business leaders who were interested in what New Brunswick has to offer.
"We were asked by a company over there to help them bring their medical supplies; they have particular technologies they'd like to introduce into Canada," Mr. Tilley said. "We were in a city called Dalian and they're organizing a summer music festival and they asked us if we can source some Canadian musical talent to attend.
"It's all over the place. We're not tied to a particular technology or a particular approach, we're basically open to facilitating these types of exchanges."
Since he opened the Saint John office in January, Mr. Tilley has established a number of local clients interested in doing business with the country that's home to about 22 per cent of the world's population and a gross national product of $1 trillion US.
One local company wants CANLink to find raw materials for specific types of machinery in China, and Mr. Tilley said he is picking from 90 vendors who could do the job. Darling Real Estate has taken advantage of CANLink's translation services to advertise to Chinese immigrants looking for new homes.
CANLink has also landed as a client a provincial government department - Mr. Tilley wouldn't say which one - that wants CANLink to help with its international business strategy.
"China's great because China has just entered the World Trade Organization so all the barriers to trade have just lifted significantly and it's becoming more and more an open market," he said. "The Beijing Olympics are coming in 2008, so there's a big push at making English as a second language."
When he's home in New Brunswick, Mr. Tilley advises New Brunswick companies to switch tracks from trying to squeeze into the American market when deals with China could be quite profitable.
"Typically in Atlantic Canada we think about export opportunities into the U.S., not so much overseas and especially into China," he said. "Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver all think of that region, but we typically don't."
The Chinese market is growing and it is open to the world, Mr. Tilley said. New Brunswick companies have the option of exporting goods to China, seeking investments there, or locating facilities to compliment operations back home.
But the biggest challenges to cementing business deals, besides the language barrier, is understanding the culture and keeping contacts solid from the other side of the world.
"When you're in China it just seems like anything is possible and the conversations are all very positive, but when you come back to Canada it is very hard to keep the communication open," Mr. Tilley said.
By establishing a branch office in Beijing with one full-time employee and several part-time associates, Mr. Tilley is hoping to keep business relationships intact.
"It gives us a continuity on the ground. I'm going to be going back and forth every second or third month to spend a couple of weeks but now we have people on the ground who can help with the matchmaking activities which is key." |
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