In a move to increase protection for Canadian investors in China, Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao signed a draft foreign investment promotion and protection agreement. The deal has been 18 years in the making. Details of the investment deal will not be released until both countries have finalized a legal review of the agreement, but it will likely include a dispute-resolution mechanism for investors who feel to have been unfairly treated in each other’s countries. Bloomberg reports Harper made specific mentions of cases where Canadian investments had not been approved in China, urging Jiabao to take action on specific investments by Manulife Financial and Bank of Nova Scotia. Harper also said he took advantage of the hour-long meeting with his Chinese counterpart to discuss Beijing’s human rights record and Canada’s disappointment over China siding with Russia to block a UN Security Council resolution on Syria.
In a move to increase protection for Canadian investors in China, Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao signed a draft foreign investment promotion and protection agreement. The deal has been 18 years in the making. Details of the investment deal will not be released until both countries have finalized a legal review of the agreement, but it will likely include a dispute-resolution mechanism for investors who feel to have been unfairly treated in each other’s countries. Bloomberg reports Harper made specific mentions of cases where Canadian investments had not been approved in China, urging Jiabao to take action on specific investments by Manulife Financial and Bank of Nova Scotia. Harper also said he took advantage of the hour-long meeting with his Chinese counterpart to discuss Beijing’s human rights record and Canada’s disappointment over China siding with Russia to block a UN Security Council resolution on Syria.