The president of the Bank of Montreal (China) Co., Ltd. (BMO ChinaCo) highlighted the growth opportunities in the trade between Canada and China in an interview with China Global Television Network (CGTN) on Thursday.
As Canada's oldest bank and the only Canadian bank with a locally incorporated banking license, the BMO had a presence in China for over four decades.
Lisa Xia , the president and also CEO of BMO ChinaCo, said that business on both sides is banking on "stability, innovation and market access," with bilateral trade already rising 9 percent year on year and cross-border financial services poised to become the "new growth engine" beyond the traditional resource-for-goods model.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney arrived in Beijing on Wednesday for an official visit to China through Saturday. Xia said BMO is watching for stability signals during Prime Minister Carney's visit.
"We are looking for positive signals that promote the stability in terms of the two country's relationship. We are also looking for commitment and to promote a more robust trade and economic cooperation between Canada and China. The real win we see is related commitment at all levels for consistent communication. So when the two governments maintain an open dialogue, it removes the risk premium of the businesses that they have to factor into their own decision making in terms of investment," said Xia.
The BMO China president also said that complementary resource-manufacturing model sustains Canada-China trade resilience.
"In terms of the global trade, China and Canada are complementary to each other. So Canada provides natural resources, oil, canola and copper, while China produces electronics, machinery that are so essential to Canadian businesses and household, so this synergy really represents the mutual strength. So Canada's rich resource base, as well as China's manufacturing scale and also the vast consumer market, those factors would endure very strong trade flows," said Xia.
Xia also noted that financial services, commodities and consumption will drive deeper cooperation.
"I can see great opportunities in three sectors -- financial service industry, commodities, and consumers. If we can open more access for companies and also individual for offshore market, and then they will be better positioned to diversify and also enrich their asset mix in investment decisions. And then talking about trade, if we can stabilize the bilateral trade and also increase it further, then the financial institution will see the scale and then provide more innovative trade finance solutions. And that can reduce the frictions in the international trade," she said.
"The second is commodity related. China has the operating scale and vast market, while Canada, we produce resources responsively. So BMO sees that opportunity and then supports the commodity trades with mergers and acquisitions advisory. We provide financing as well as advices so that we can help companies to navigate the price volatilities with confidence," Xia said.
"The next sector I want to talk about is consumers related. Canadian brands are highly regarded in China. We've already seen big success of some Canadian brands in sectors like winter wear, sports gear, coffee or seafood. So what we observe is that Canadian brands lean into China for scale and innovation," she said.
BMO China president highlights growth opportunities in Canada-China trade
BMO China president highlights growth opportunities in Canada-China trade
