2014-15 Canada-China Business Forum Magazine | Page 48
SMALL & MEDIUM-SIZED ENTERPRISES
“I find, more and more, I’m getting people who want
foreign expertise, skills and ears for the different styles
of music that are becoming popular in China now,” says
Matthew.
“We know that there is an expanding Canadian
presence in China,” says Guy Saint-Jacques,
Canada’s ambassador to China. “But there’s always
a challenge to find out exactly how much Canadian
investment is really going on.”
Watching him produce a vocal recording session with
a young Chinese singer, you can see Jarome wearing
Spend a few minutes talking to Ambassador Sainttwo hats. He is both a talented music producer who has
Jacques and he can list off a veritable Who’s Who
had radio hits in Canada, and a young Canadian with
of the well-known Canadian firms doing business
a cultivated sense of the subtleties of Chinese language
here. From the french fry kings at McCain foods, to
and culture. He stops the singer from time to time to
IMAX Theatres and Bombardier. Mark Morabito,
ask if she can phrase her words differently, trying to
founder and executive chairman of Alderon Iron
maximize her musical impact while being mindful of
Corporation, says his project is shovel ready and
how changes in tone can actually change the meaning
is poised to start shipping about 60 per cent of
of the Chinese words.
the iron ore produced in
It is a tedious balancing
Newfoundland’s Kami site to
“Nothing is permitted, but
act, and when you ask
China, hopefully beginning
everything is possible.”
Jarome why he is not
in 2017. But what Statistics
- Jarome Matthew
doing this in Vancouver
Canada’s trade numbers may
or Los Angeles, what he
not be seeing are these new
will tell you is simple:
and small operations like
he loves China and, like
Matthew’s that are broadening
other business people here,
and deepening the Canadahe sees massive market
China business relationship.
opportunities screaming to
They are as many and as
be realized.
varied as the narrow alleyways
you take to get to Matthew’s
“There’s definitely a
Hutong sound studio. You
huge potential because
have never heard of most of
the world’s looking for
them, and chances are, you
what’s going to come out
never will. But with the sheer
of China,” he says. “It’s
number of projects like this
very exciting because everything is new and developing,
happening, the possibility that one or two of them
whereas in the West, it’s sort of all been done and there’s
could break out in a big way is high. Matthew’s goal
a lot of people in it.”
is nothing short of discovering and developing the
next Chinese rock star and taking him or her global.
Watching Matthew at work you get a sense of the
Wouldn’t that be an interesting new statistic for the
evolution of Canadian business in China. Sure,
ambassador’s talking points?
much of Canada’s role here is still in supplying raw
materials, but there are more and more Canadians
Ambassador Saint-Jacques says as healthy as the
like Matthew popping up in China; the entrepreneur I
growth has been in recent years, it can and should
met from Hamilton with the one-off craft beer brewery
be stronger. “I’m not 100 per cent happy because I
that sits in the corner of a Beijing restaurant; or the
know we can do better,” he says, adding that many
young Vancouver woman whose independent media
Chinese still think of Canada as primarily a supplier
consultancy offers specialized Canadian-developed
of commodities. In his view, Canada could learn a
expertise to Chinese firms. Start adding up just the ones
thing or two from Germany, the Netherlands and
you know about and you see the trend is no longer just
other countries that have developed a reputation
growth in big, strategic commodities, but diversification
for higher-end goods and services. As the Chinese
and growing personal linkages in smaller enterprises
middle class grows, he sees opportunities in the solike Matthew’s. More complexity. More nuance and
called third-tier cities, places few Canadians have
interdependence.