aa in every three jobs in Canada de- pends upon our trade with other na- tions. This fact provides the key to answering the question, “Can we have both peace and prosperity, or will peace in Korea spell the beginning of de- pression?” Here’s what one of British Columbia’s foremost industrialists —- Harold S. Foley, president of the giant Powell River Company — has said about the chances ‘of peace and prosperity: “There just couldn’t be anything wrong with peace. It would bring no- thing but benefits to the North Ameri- can continent.” _ Foley and other business men, who have struck the same note of confidence, know that with peace Canada could ex- pand her export trade tremendously. Trade can mean not only jobs for workers, but profits for businessmen and° a livelihood for our farmers. It is well known that the cold war has crippled our trade; it should be just as well understood that in peace we ‘could develop far wider markets for our ‘natural resources and manufactured products than we have ever had. - Several of our major, basic industries right heresin British Columbia — lum- ber, fishing, fruit farming — have been imperiled by a loss of traditional Com- monwealth markets. Burdened by huge rearmament programs, Commonwealth ‘countries simply haven’t the money to buy our goods. - No one would underestimate the im- portance of trying to regain these tra- ditional markets, but this article -con- cerns itself with an even vaster market that can be ours for the asking. * In People’s China there live 500 mil- lion people, each and everyone of whom is a potential customer for Canadian goods, a potential provider of Canadian jobs and profits. We need indulge in no tricks of super-salesmanship to get their business. They are in need of our goods; they will pay world market prices for them, and they do have the wealth to purchase them. All we need do is ‘say, “We'll do business.” : The potential of the Chinese market is grasped by Powell River’s Harold Foley and by many another B.C. busi- _nessman. : In pre-war years, Foley points out, was a major market for news- . In 1937, Canada shipped 120,000 tons to China and Powell River’s share a large part of the company’s total output for that year. - On June 27, the Vancouver Sun pub- lished a news story which began, “Most shipping men here believe peace in will mean prosperity for port of Vancouver,” and which went on to quote a shipping company official as saying, “df Red China is recognized by Canada, business may boom between the two countries.” Though recognition of People’s China not a prerequisite to trade, obviously recognition would throw the door wide ~ open to a booming business between our country and China. - Recognition of People’s China has en advocated by M. J. Coldwell, CCF MACHINERY, | O TRAC Y Tone _ By RAY GARDNER Ray Gardner submitted this article to all Vancouver daily and weekly ~ papers. Well known as a journalist across the country, Gardner is now se- cretary of B.C. Peace Council. He was a member of the Canadian delegation to the Asian and Pacific Peace Con- ference last year. national leader, and an indication that the Canadian government itself is con- cerned came in a speech on June 12 by Prime Minister St. Laurent who said: “We have to realistic and deal with people who represent effectively the masses of the people in Asia... I believe that each nation is privileged to have the form of government they choose. The recognition of a govern- ment does not imply that we approve of the form of that government.” These are almost exactly the same words used by Premier Jawaharlal Nehru when India recognized People’s China about three years ago. Recogni- tion of People’s China would not only strengthen world peace but, as a stimu- lus to trade, would immeasurably strengthen our Canadian economy. The subject of. trade with China na- turally raises many questions. This article will attempt to answer some of them: * Why are we not trading with People’s China now? What prevents us trading with People’s China? Nothing prevents us from trading with People’s China but our own stub- born refusal to trade. The fact is, of course, that the United States, aS part of its cold war policy © and in contravention of the United Na- ' tions Charter, has imposed a blockade on People’s China. Canada has ‘gone along with this blockade, though some countries, to a greater or lesser extent, are refusing to go along. These include ~ Ceylon, India, Pakistan, even Britain and, to some small extent, even Japan. — That our trade with People’s China ‘is curbed by U.S. pressure was. indicated in a recent Vancouver Sun interview with Ernest Watkins, noted BBC news commentator, who sees “an even greater market (greater than Britain) for B.C. lumber in rapidly-developing China — if Senator McCarthy and his associates will permit it.” * How willing are the Chinese to do business with us? - As willing as could be. The Common Program, basic law of new China, defines government policy concerning trade as ‘to restore and de- velop commercial relations with all foreign governments and peoples on a basis of equality and mutual benefit.” The Chinese government has acted consistently to implement this policy and as a result has achieved a favor- able trade balance for the first time in 73 years. At the Moscow Economic Conference, held in April, 1952, Nan Han-Chen, lead- er of China’s delegation, said: “We consider it necessary to pro- mote international trade and develop international economic relations in con- ditions of world peace so as to im- prove the living standards of the peo- ple throughout the world. : “We are prepared to resume and develop commercial and trade rela- tions with any government and people, irrespective of divergence in beliefs, - political systems, social and economic systems, provided that such relations are based on equality and mutual bene- fit? : Was Nan Han-Chen just talking for publication, or did he mean business? The answer is that right. at the Mos- cow Conference, China made trade deals with eleven nations, including Britain, France, Italy, Belgium, West - Germany, the Netherlands and Switzer- land, with a total export and import value of $224 million. Later that year, in Peking, some Japanese businessmen concluded a $180 million trade agree- ment. More agreements have been made since, particularly with Britain, and, as this is written, a 19-man British trade delegation is in Peking. Does our government have to recognize People’s China before we can do: busi- ness? : At Moscow, Nan Han-Chen said China “maintains .. . we can establish (sound trading relations with all countries) re- gardless of whether or not there exist diplomatic relations.” However, as stres- Boom sed earlier in this article, recognition would be a great stimulus to trade. But it is‘ not a pre-condition. * What about money, foreign exchange? All China’s trade is by barter, with the U.S. dollar as*the unit of measure. While in China last fall to attend the Pacific Peace Conference, a group of Canadians, including the writer, spent _an entire evening in our hotel with the chairman of the China Committee’ for the Promotion of International Trade, a non-government body that functions quite like our Board of Trade. Technical details, concerning letters of credit and the use of banking facili- ties in a third. country, were explained . to us but such intricacies are outside the scope of this article. Barter could be on the basis of a straight swap — let us say, of Canadian lumber for Chinese tea — or a three-way deal could take place, involving yet an- other country: We were told of one deal made at: Moscow that involved Soviet wheat, Icelandic sardines and Italian olive oil, the various products being shuffled about- until each country ended up with the product it sought. All of the big trade agreements since . made with British firms have been made onea barter basis.and have apparently. worked out to everyone’s satisfaction. Even while we were in China a huge - deal was transacted for the exchange of Chinese rice for Ceylon rubber. _ We were told that one outcome of the Moscow Economic Conference was the establishment in Britain, under chairmanship of Lloyd Boyd Orr, the for- mer UN official, of a British Council for Promotion of International Trade. This council has sent out 2,000 inquiries to British businessmen, asking if they were interested in doing business with Peo- ple’s China, the Soviet Union and East- ern Europe. Only eight said “No.” : It is through the China Committee and such committees as Lloyd Boyd Orr’s that the technical details of barter can be worked out. : ‘5 * Typical of the men who are transforming People’s China is Hsu Fu-shan, a lead‘ing worker on the great Huai River project.