Ontario and Province of Jiangsu Renew Friendship

Premier McGuinty Recognizes Remembrance Day At Solemn Ceremony

November 11, 2005 — NANJING — Premier Dalton McGuinty and the Ontario Trade Mission to China today celebrated Ontario's special friendship with Jiangsu Province by signing a renewed Memorandum of Understanding and Friendship.

“We have witnessed the power of Beijing, and we have seen the bright lights of Shanghai, but there is an expression in English, that there is no place like home, and coming to Jiangsu province feels like coming home,” the Premier said to loud applause from the 200 people attending a banquet hosted by Jiangsu Governor Liang Baohuo.

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Twenty years ago, then Premier David Peterson signed the first Friendship Accord with Jiangsu, paving the way for Ontario in China and fostering a series of economic, educational and governmental partnerships. That relationship continues to intensify as China's remarkable economic boom continues to accelerate.

In his remarks, Governor Liang said Jiangsu has experienced several straight years of economic growth averaging more than 12 per cent, and now does $220 billion worth of trade with 218 countries. He stressed that Ontario has a special relationship with Jiangsu, one that should now lead to increased co-operation and trade.

Jiangsu Province, located on China's east coast, is now home to a number of Ontario-based firms including AMR Technologies, Celestica, Nortel, Magna International, Manulife Financial and Linamar Corporation.

Premier McGuinty and Governor Liang signed the renewed accord at a special ceremony, followed by the signing of several individual co-operation agreements between Ontario firms, universities and colleges and their Chinese counterparts.

Brock University, Can-Travel Services, Seneca College, University of Waterloo and Canada Shred Tech Corporation all took part.

The renewed Friendship Accord will:

• Help create the Ontario-Jiangsu Business Council, which will promote two-way trade and investment
• Support student, teacher and principal exchanges
• Facilitate “two plus two” educational programs which allow students to study for two years in Ontario and then two years in China
• Promote the sharing of information on agriculture, natural resources, medical services and public health.

Joe Cordiano, the Minister of Economic Development and Trade, and Tony Wong, MPP and Parliamentary Assistant to the Premier for Research and Innovation, witnessed the signings.

“By working with the people of China and Jiangsu and building on this special relationship, we can strengthen our economies and ensure our shared prosperity for years to come,” said Wong.

“Building friendships is an important part of building prosperity through two-way trade and investment,” said Cordiano.

Earlier in the day in Shanghai, the Premier marked Remembrance Day by joining officials at the Canadian Consulate for a solemn ceremony to honour the bravery and sacrifices of Canadian veterans. Later, the Premier was greeted warmly by Ontario flag waving children at #10 Middle School in Suzhou.

The children, who have been studying Remembrance Day and the poem In Flanders Fields , asked the Premier several questions about Ontario. The Premier, in turn, asked them several questions about school in China, and spoke about the importance of education to the future of both Canada and China.

The Suzhou school is one of three schools twinned with schools in the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board. This partnership has seen Ontario teachers visiting Suzhou #10 to provide English training and Chinese staff have visited Ottawa sister schools to learn about continuing education.

The Ontario trade mission to China, which concludes November 15, includes more than 125 people from approximately 100 organizations, representing private sector companies, universities and colleges, municipalities, agricultural organizations and medical research institutions.

Backgrounder: Agreements Signed in China by Ontario Trade Mission

Premier Dalton McGuinty is leading the Ontario Trade and Investment Mission to China to promote the themes of education, innovation and investment. Ontario's delegation includes more than 125 people from approximately 100 organizations, representing private sector companies, universities and colleges, municipalities, agricultural organizations and medical research institutions.

Companies, educational institutions and organizations from Ontario and China have signed Memoranda of Understanding (MOU) on a host of projects that will strengthen the economic foundation of both jurisdictions while fostering trade and investment relationships between them.

Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto: An agreement has been signed with Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine at Hong University to collaborate on research initiatives in the field of genomic medicine focused on cancer, infectious diseases and inflammatory diseases as well as reproductive and developmental diseases. This agreement is the first step in establishing a joint Centre for Genomic Medicine.

B&H Architects Ltd. of Toronto: An agreement with the Yuexing Group to design what will be the largest retail furniture shopping centre in Asia — the Shanghai Universal Home Decoration Expo Centre.

Can-Travel Services Inc.: An agreement has been signed with the China Sunrise Travel Service to work together to prepare for a possible Approved Destination Status for Canada, which would allow for increased tourism from China.

BTI Photonic Systems Inc. of Nepean: An agreement has been signed to provide Alcatel Chengdu Communications Systems with Alcatel-branded versions of BTI's Netsender system for sale in China.

Hoken Agritech International Inc. of Toronto: The company has agreed to supply the Nanjing Weigang Dairy group with frozen bovine semen and embryos as well as Bioniche animal health products and related technical training.

Taishan International High-Tech Corporation of Toronto: An agreement will be signed with Yangtze River Pharmacy Group to jointly license, manufacture, market and distribute herbal medicines and pharmaceuticals.

Lingo Media of Toronto: A letter of intent has been signed with Phoenix Publishing Media Group of Nanjing to establish a joint venture to publish educational newspapers, textbooks, trade books and magazines.

Algonquin College in Ottawa: MOUs have been signed with five institutions in China to provide:

• English-as-a-second language training and curriculum to students of the Shanghai Dong-Zhang Education Development Group
• English-as-a-second language at the Anhui Fuyang No.1 Middle School in Fuyang City
• Animation training to students at Shanghai University
• Programs and training for students from Nanjing University of Technology at Algonquin's Ottawa campus.
• Professional development and teacher training programs at Algonquin College in Ottawa for students at Shandong Jiatong University with plans to develop other joint programs.

Seneca College of Applied Arts and Science in Toronto: An MOU has been signed with China Space Telecom Ltd. and Summer Leaf Inc. to discuss the framework for establishing a Joint Venture College in Beijing.

The college has also signed an agreement in principle with the Changzhou Institute of Technology to carry out cooperative educational programs and with the Jinling Institute of Technology to strengthen educational and cultural cooperation and extend their cooperation to include degree study programs.

INFOworks Educational Services Inc. Canada of Kitchener: The company will promote and market a wide range of educational programs and professional services on behalf of the Beijing International Educational Exchange with the aim of increasing international understanding and providing enriched professional development opportunities.

Brock University of St. Catharines: An agreement has been signed with Qingdao University of Science and Technology of Beijing to establish a collaborative research program to allow students in computer science and information processing to complete half of their study programs at both universities. Brock University will also sign an agreement with San Jiang University to carry out collaborative research and study programs.

The Centre for Education and Training of Mississauga: Agreements have been signed with the Centre of International Exchange of Education-Shanxi Provincial School Board, Tianjin Municipal School Board, Tianjin Dongli District School Board, Tianjin Tanggu District School Board and Hong Kou Civic District School Board to deliver professional development language training and children's vacation language school camps. In addition, the centre will deliver English language assessment services and English language training to the Tianjin Institute of Foreign Economic Relations and Trade.

Bond International College of Toronto: The Jiangsu International Education Exchange Association will establish a joint language training centre in Toronto for teachers from Jiangsu.

The George Brown College Centre for Early Childhood Development: The Centre will establish a Laboratory School in Suzhou and develop curriculum and best operation practices along with providing practicum and job opportunities for early childhood development students and graduates of George Brown College.

Renison College, University of Waterloo: An MOU has been signed with the Jiangsu Teachers University of Technology in Changzou to promote friendly relations and academic exchanges between the two institutions. Renison College will also offer joint Bachelor of Arts degree programs with the School of Foreign Studies at Nanjing University.

University of Waterloo: A partnership protocol has been developed with Tsinghua University to explore scientific and academic cooperation.

Fanshawe College of London: An agreement has been signed with the Beijing Institute of Education to establish student, teacher and staff exchanges and joint education programs.

Backgrounder: Ontario-Jiangsu Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)

Premier Dalton McGuinty recognized Ontario's special relationship with the Chinese province of Jiangsu, China by signing a renewed Memorandum of Understanding and Friendship with its Governor, Liang Baohua.

Twenty years ago, Ontario and Jiangsu first signed a Friendship Accord, which paved the way for Ontario in China by fostering closer economic, educational, institutional and government ties between the two jurisdictions.

Under the renewed agreement:

• The Ontario-Jiangsu Business Council will be created to promote two-way trade and investment and make recommendations to both the Ontario and Jiangsu governments.
• Ontario district schools boards will be encouraged to develop closer ties with Jiangsu public schools and postsecondary institutions will be assisted to develop exchange programs and possibly joint-degree programs.
• Ontario will host a jointly-organized Education Forum in 2006.
• Ties will be promoted between Ontario's public libraries and Jiangsu Provincial Library.
• TVOntario and TV Jiangsu will explore opportunities for joint ventures.
• Ministry of Transportation and Jiangsu Communications Department will develop an exchange program on transportation planning, design, road maintenance and Intelligent Transportation Systems.
• Exchange programs will be developed for researchers and students focusing on life sciences, information and communications technologies, and materials and advanced manufacturing.
• Increased collaboration will take place in the areas of agricultural and natural resources and an Environmental Sub-agreement will focus on energy conservation, environmental sciences and source water protection.
• Ontario and Jiangsu will support cooperative agreements between hospitals in the two provinces. Both governments will endorse the importance of information sharing during public health emergencies.

For more information:

Premier’s Media Office
416-314-8975

www.premier.gov.on.ca
www.resultsontario.gov.on.ca