Left to Right – Shenzhen Vice Mayor Liu Yingli; Shenzhen Mayor Xu Zongheng; Mike Tilley, President, CANLink Global, Wei Jianguo, Vice Minister, Ministry of Commerce; Lily Wang, GM CANLink Global (China).

Newman Huo  

 THE Atlantic Canada Business Network (ACBN) was inaugurated as one of the third batch of nine institutes entering the S henz hen International Science Technology Business Platform in S henz hen’s Hi-Tech Industrial Park on Thursday.

Wei Jianguo, vice minister of the Ministry of Commerce, Xu Zong heng, S henz hen mayor, Mike Tilley , president and founder of the CANLink Global Inc. from New Brunswick in Canada, Lily Wang , general manager of the ACBN in China, jointly unveiled a plaque to mark the official opening of the institute in the city.

 Norm McFarlane, mayor of Saint John in New Brunswick , and more than 30 governmental officials and entrepreneurs from New Brunswick and Nova Scotia in and Canadian Consulate General in Guangzhou also attended the unveiling ceremony.

 "The ACBN, founded by CANLink Global Inc., builds trade and investment between and . Our focus is to bridge opportunities between Atlantic Canada and the world," Tilley said.

 With extensive expertise, social networks and experiences in North America and , the ACBN would focus on Canada-China trade in diverse sectors, such as information communications technology, aviation, education and training, and advanced manufacturing, Tilley said.

 "It is not a surprise that is a high priority for our organization as the country’s economy has taken on a dramatic and rapid development over recent years, showing us a great prospect for business and trade cooperation and exchanges between and ," he said.

 "Our Canadian home base is the city of Saint John and our home base in is now S henz hen ," Tilley said.

 Over past four years, Tilley has visited for about 25 times. Last year, he brought four companies from New Brunswick to attend the China Hi-Tech Fair (CHTF) for the first time.

 This year, Tilley brought a total of 16 Canadian companies to attend the Seventh CHTF.

 "With a friendship agreement signed between Saint John and S henz hen , the future is very bright for further exchanges between these wonderful cities," Tilley said.

 Tilley said he felt very privileged to accompany Canadian organizations during the two-week mission in China, including the Ambir Technology Group, Atlantic Educational International, Enterprise Saint John, Branding Merchants, Forterm, Saint John Port Authority, University of New Brunswick, Saint John Police Force, Innovatia, Moncton Flight College, New Brunswick Community College, DFS International and Hit Media.