THE VANCOUVER SUN

Trade between British Columbia and China is moving to a new level, outgoing Chinese Consul-general Liang Shugen said in an interview on the changes in relations that have taken place during his three-year tenure in Vancouver.

The emphasis is no longer on investing in China and importing Chinese-made goods, he said. Now, trade has broadened into two-way business relationships and Chinese companies are seeking stronger relationships with companies here. As more Chinese business investment comes into this province, it is opening up new opportunities for trade beyond the traditional commodities.

On the trade front, Liang urged British Columbians to look west across the Pacific and forge stronger trade relations with Asia.

"It's not only minerals, it's not only coal and liquefied natural gas," he said. "It's lumber, seafood, Okanagan wines. There are lots of opportunities. This is two-way trade and two-way investment."

The New York Times

Since the start of the Kyoto Protocol, Clean Development Mechanism credits have been widely expected to be the main global carbon currency that would link a network of global systems. The mechanism allows emission-reduction projects in developing countries to earn credits.

But nearly all of the big emitting nations have refused to extend the 1997 pact, and both the European Union and Japan, which have been the biggest investors in the Clean Development Mechanism, want to move away from a project-by-project crediting approach.

Instead, they favor a more widespread market that will generate far more emission reductions.

Wolfgang Sterk with the Wuppertal Institute said the Chinese carbon market could play a dominant role.

"If a national system emerges in China, depending on the design and scope, it may become the biggest in the world, and allowances in that system would give a global price signal," he said.