Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION

CentrePort Canada, Chinese agency sign trade pact

Stockwell Day watches as Diane Gray and Zhu Dalun shake on the new partnership.

HANDOUT PHOTO Enlarge Image

Stockwell Day watches as Diane Gray and Zhu Dalun shake on the new partnership.

A co-operation agreement has been formally signed between CentrePort Canada and a similar trade agency in China.

Diane Gray, president and CEO of CentrePort Canada, signed the agreement while in China on Tuesday, along with Zhu Dalun, chief supervisor of the Cuntan Bonded Port Zone in Chongqing, China.

The agreement is being hailed by Premier Greg Selinger, who said the agreement will help Manitoba build its trading relationship with China and strengthen the province's strategic position in southeast Asia.

"Two-way trade between Manitoba and China has nearly doubled over the past five years and it is important that we keep building our relationship," Selinger said in a prepared statement. "On-the-ground partnerships like the one between CentrePort Canada and Cuntan Bonded Port Zone can be extremely helpful in opening doors to new investment opportunities."

Selinger said the agreement paves the way for joint promotions that increase awareness in both Canadian and Chinese markets, sharing of market information and sharing technology that will enhance the movement of goods.

CentrePort Canada is Winnipeg's 20,000-acre inland port that surrounds the Richardson International Airport. The Cuntan Bonded Port Zone is located in Central China. Both inland ports offer access to multi-modal transportation options, including air, rail, road and sea, and both are centrally located on their respective continents.

Riva Harrison, CentrePort Canada's executive director of marketing and communications, said these kinds of agreements will be important in CentrePort's efforts to become part of the Asia-Pacific trade network.

"In trying to grow trade in a region as large as Asia-Pacific, every little collaboration like this will help," she said.

Relationships also matter, Harrison said.

The fact that Gray, CentrePort's CEO, made the effort to visit Cuntan will make the potential for the partnership more fruitful.

-- Staff

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition May 19, 2010 B5

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