| | Oct 17th, 2005
| | | Educational link with China paying off: businessman
| | | Mike Tilley discovers Chinese official's student son had already told her 'good things' about Saint John
By Mike Mullen
Telegraph-Journal
Local businessman Mike Tilley has been telling people all along that Saint John's educational link with China is helping open up tremendous business opportunities in the world's most populous country.
Now, the president of CanLink Global has new anecdotal evidence to back up his claim.
Mr. Tilley, in China since last Monday as a part of a 20-member Saint John trade delegation his company organized, met the mother of second-year UNB Saint John student Li Li during official opening ceremonies for CanLink Global's new office in the boom city of Shenzhen last Thursday.
He reports the woman turned out to be none other than Madame Mao, the prestigious director general of Shenzhen's foreign affairs office
"(Madame Mao) told me she first heard about Saint John from her son," Mr. Tilley said in a Saturday night telephone interview from a bus travelling from Shenzhen University to his hotel.
"She heard a lot of good things about our city that had been passed on to her."
The payoff from such positive student links, he believes, is paving the way for a warm reception for Canadian businesses in places like Shenzhen, a city of 10 million next door to Hong Kong.
"First, she hears about us from her son and now our two mayors are connected together. It's just amazing," said Mr. Tilley, who was present just a day earlier when Mayor Norm McFarlane of Saint John and his Chinese counterpart signed a friendship agreement before thousands of people.
About 200 people attended the opening of CanLink Global's office in a high-tech industrial park, including the two mayors, Madame Mao and the vice minister of the central government.
Mr. Tilley said the entire New Brunswick delegation is enthused about the Chinese response to their visit which, for some members, including Mayor McFarlane, will end with a return flight home Wednesday.
"The business environment in Shenzhen is very, very open," Mr. Tilley said. "There is such a business dynamic, tremendous growth and an openness to foreign investment. It's just a tremendous environment to launch a business. There is growth here like you wouldn't believe."
In just 25 years, Shenzhen has gone from a fishing village of 8,000 to a city of 10 million, with the world's fourth largest port.
Mr. Tilley said a Saint John Port Authority group, which included Mayor McFarlane and Enterprise Saint John chair Dale Knox, were "absolutely blown away" by what they saw during a Friday morning visit to the Shenzhen port.
"The port is only 10 years old and they saw thousands and thousands of containers on land," he said. "They did that in the morning and then, in the afternoon, our company arranged a symposium between two organizations - the Saint John Port Authority and the Shenzhen Logistic Association, an association of companies and government officials who have anything to do with logistics."
He said the Saint John Port Authority was able to make a 45-minute presentation on the opportunities for investment and shipping in Saint John and Mayor McFarlane, as he has done throughout the trip, struck a rapport with key Chinese officials.
"The mayor has just done an awesome job here, with government officials especially," Mr. Tilley said. "Senior government officials are at the apex of society and he has played his role so well. He has (had) 15- or 20-hour days and always has a smile on his face. He appeared in no less than five newspapers (Friday), with pictures of him and government officials."
Other Friday highlights for the delegation, Mr. Tilley said, included a meeting with two government airlines who are looking at sending pilots to the Moncton Flight College for training and a successful meeting between Ambir Technology Group of Saint John and Huawei, already the third largest telecommunications equipment manufacturer in the world.
"They are coming to North America and they are looking for technology companies who can bridge efforts to get into North American markets," said Mr. Tilley. "And they've asked Ambir to consider being a centre of expertise. So, it's an important first step for a business relationship there."
Mr. Tilley said it's been a busy but productive week for all involved.
"Saint John is on the map in Shenzhen," he said. "We now have friendships with that city. And it is up to us to follow up. So, we have a pretty motivated group to do that."Place content here. |
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