x WILL CANADA GRASP OPPORTUNITY? China—a waiting marke’ By SYD GORDON PEKING—The visit to China of two prominent Canadian businessmen has brought into sharp focus the remarkable folly which is denying Canada the biggest potential market in history. The businessmen who had the opportunity to see this spectacular market for them- selves were James S. Duncan, a Toronto industrialist with an international reputation, and Walter L: Gordon, head of the last Liberal government’s Gordon Commission. What they saw in China was the largest population in the world moving swiftly from semi-feudalism to mod- ern_ industrialization, and openly welcoming trade on an unprecedented scale ag all countries. ‘What they also saw, how- ever, was a trade picture cal- culated to cause their fellow- Canadians intense frustration Apart from the socialist coun- tries, whose highly develop- ed trade with China has a basis of its own, some 80 capitalist countries are busily getting in on New China’s business. Only Canada’s offi- cialdom, practically alone in the splendid isolation impos- ed by Washington’s dictates, is turning up its nose at the Chinese market and acting as if such trade is a mysterious disease, as if Canadian indus- trialists. don’t want business, as if Canadian workers, don’t want jobs, as if the Canadian economy doesn’t need exports Despite a substantial in- crease last year in the bus- iness done between Canada and China, indicative of mounting interest, it still re- mained negligable. All the various Chinese efforts to help it become a roaring torrent have come up against the equally obvious Ottawa ‘policy of keeping it down to a thin trickle. . Now the situation between « “the two countries can be sum- med up as follows: yester- day’s possibilities, though sniffed at -indifferently, can still be grasped, but may be cut down appreciably tomor- row if still rejected today. There are many illusions in Canada on the subject of trade with China. The first, resulting from misinformation and _ official dereliction, is the. idea that there isn’tmuch business to be done with China’ to be- gin with. The fact is, however, that there has been a traditional exchange of products between the two countries predating Liberation. In the past 10° years the program of indust- rialization here has sharply increased the range of prod- ucts China wishes to buy and sell. In one decade, as a result, her foreign trade has ‘risen by © 210 percent. But during the same period even the traditional trade between China and Canada has been treated cavalierly by success- ive governments at Ottawa. This reflects, not the lack of Chinese business, but the lack of a proper business sense at Ottawa. : Another illusion is that China may want to buy a lot of ‘Canadian products but can’t pay for them. This one is no doubt fed by Washing- ton “world leaders” suffering from the fatal disease known as “believing your own pro- paganda.” It js completely .false. China is paying in west- ern currency for everything she is buying in western mar- kets. Any increase’ in’ business with Canada, I am officially informed by the minister of foreign trade, will be hand- led the same way. Officials here scoff at the idea of the need for complicated credit or other financial arrange- ments.. The simple truth is that _ China wants trade, right on ‘the barrel, to be paid for with the kind of money that gladdens the heart of the true capitalist. The fact that she will probably buy more from us than she will sell us will in no way alter her ability to pay. Still another illusion is the idea that free trade with China will somehow have unfavor- able political repercussions. In addition, some fear possi-. ble reprisals from the United States. On the first score one need only point out that the 80-odd capitalist countries trading with China, instead of suffering political disaffec- tion, have enjoyed economic benefits denied to Canada under Ottawa’s current “vir- ginal” policies. Some of these countries, with less weight than Can- ada, have in fact learned that it pays off handsomely to ignore the Washington frenzy in world affairs and ‘go calmly about your own business _ with your own counsels. As far as. reprisals from Washington are. concerned, politics is a two-way street. Britain is only one of many - of the USA’s allies who have rejected Washington’s dis- pleasure at trade with China with complete impunity. Can- adians must be a weakling breed if an this matter they must do as Washington says, not as Britain does. Britain, on her part, also. may not be encouraging Canada to get into the Chinese market, but she is in it herself “with a sharp eye open for her own commercial interests. There is also. a_ conceit among some people in Can-.- ada.that China is knocking at our. door, cap in hand, to beg meekly for trade, and that we ean let the beggar in any time it suits our purpose. That isa monumentally ig- norant notion derived from a decade of misinformation about this country. China as a beggar among nations — more accurately,,as a country beggared by the nations — no longer exists. She is beg- ging nobody for trade. Her people are persuaded they can work miracles of indus- trialization, as witness the very evident fact that she will this year undoubtedly overtake Britain in steel out- put. She has already abolished unemployment and hunger within her borders, and is in fact suffering a labor short- age. What Canada will not sell her she has buying elsewhere, or making herself: It is in fact Canada whose trade deterioration, idle machines, unemployed work- ers and faltering economy beg for massive and invigor- ating doses of Chinese busi- ness. Ottawa is cutting off its own nose to spite its own face while others step in where “Honest John” fears to tread. * 502 % What can we sell to China? The list is impressive. China is now buying elsewhere, but . is willing also to buy from Canada, a long list of prod- ucts which includes the fol- ‘lowing: various kinds of steel products, machine tobls, gen- erating equipment, copper, aluminum, nickel and other — metals, chemical fertilizers, pulp for paper, paper-making equipment and other goods. It should be emphasized that China has in the past eight years been buying great quantities of these products already been - Chinese leaders are willing to sign trade pacts. abroad, and is continuing to do so. In the reverse direction, Chinese leaders emphasize that a number of Chinese products have _ traditionally had a good sale in Canada, and their number has now in- - creased. These include: wal- nuts, tung oil, handicrafts, silk, tea, bristles, furs, egg products and many more. The Chinese have bought wheat from Canada but sus- pect that Ottawa would like to inundate them with our “prairie gold.” They are quite emphatic in saying they are not interested in trade rela- tions restricted to the ex- change of Chinese walnuts for Canadian wheat. In their view “nuts for wheat” is not a trade formula but a parlor game. It can hardly be view- ed differently from the Can- adian side. xt xt it A Canadian literary critic, William Arthur Deacon, long. ago foretold the immense sig- nificance for Canada of trade and international amity with China, which all Ottawa gov- ernments to date have seem- ed to view through a cracked glass. Deacon, literary editor of the respectably conserva- tive Globe and Mail in .1933 © wrote an unusual book, My Vision of Canada, in which he expressed these prophetic Views about the inter-related destinies of Canada and Chinare “Fortune has placed at our door the world’s largest mar- ket . . . whose sudden desire ' warlords and intriguin -the world’s largest popul: June 26, 1959 — PACIFIC TRIBUNE—PA\ to buy coincides accu with our realization that ' must sell. Here is a coun anxious to obtain neatly everything we can make grow ... in prodigious 4 tities, at incalculable profit ourselves, and all in course of clean, honest D4 ness. ; “China is bound to be C ada’s trade partner in the fu ture because of geograph proximity, coupled with s larity of temperament ane complementary sets of proe ucts. An ocean need not be | barrier; it may be a prid with water transport cheapest known. . ~ . It an opportunity without pa lel in the history of tradi nations.” This is not the first the practical politicians lagged behind the “liter dreamer.” If anyone wants imitate the politicians, — argue that Deacon was Pp esying 26 years ago in d ent conditions, there? ready answer. Today thesis is reinforced by fact that Canada again faltering economy, China is now stable, tors, advancing swiftly, with a. tremendously ini ed capacity to buy and © and a guaranteed abi pay. . Today, in fact, James i the banker has repeated almost. identical terms prophecy of Deacon the erary dreamer.”