2014-15 Canada-China Business Forum Magazine | Page 86

THE YEAR IN REVIEW by SARAH KUTULAKOS The Year in Review CCBC China Business Workshop in Airdrie Every year there seems to be more to report on in this wrap-up, and I’m pleased to say we’ve had another jam-packed year, with great progress made in many areas. Top Membership Sectors in 2014: 1. Consulting (Engineering, Business, Project, Accounting, etc.) As a membership organization, we pay keen attention to our membership growth both sectorally and geographically. This year’s pace has been excellent – our membership is approaching 250 organizations, with more than 1,000 individuals in those organizations who are active in one or more cities. Many of our members are active in all six of our locations: Toronto, Calgary, Montreal, Vancouver, Beijing and Shanghai. Quebec membership has more than doubled since 2011; BC’s has increased by almost 50 per cent; and 13 new organizations in Alberta joined as members in only the first six months of this year. 2. Education 3. Financial & Legal (Tie) 4. Manufacturing (Light & Heavy) We have put in place a revised membership recruitment and service process to better serve members, and an infrastructure to help more SMEs and handle our future growth in membership. Small and medium-sized enterprises represent about 65 per cent of the CCBC’s total company membership, so we continue to build capability to help them assess and enter China and to resolve problems on the ground. By July 2014 new members had already exceeded 2013 numbers, and in a variety of sectors, including technology, mining, agri-food, and healthcare. Chinese enterprises represent approximately 10 per cent of membership, with Chihong Canada Mining Ltd, Greenland Group, Hisense Canada and Siwin Foods joining us this year. With increasingly diverse Chinese firms investing in Canada, our service for Chinese members helps them become successful Canadian companies. Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson speaking at a special CCBC luncheon on Vancouver’s competitive edge as a global hub for the green economy. 85 CANADA CHINA FORUM BUSINESS 2014-2015 ccbc.com Geographically, we have been expanding our reach, too. Our Montreal office, opened in 2011, is now well established and active beyond Montreal in cities like Quebec City, Sherbrooke and Trois-Rivières. Montreal also launched our first Business Incubation Centre in Canada for Chinese investors. Our Calgary office has been in operation for more than a year and is making a large footprint in Alberta. Shanghai has a revitalized operation, and its Business Incubation Centre is full. The team has engaged new and existing members and provides frequent guidance to members travelling in the Yangtze River Delta area. In Vancouver, we have a new manager, Wei Liu, who is getting 86