District of Squamish Mayor Greg Gardner and community services general manager Cameron Chalmers are inviting locals to join them tonight for a presentation about their economic development expedition to Shanghai.
Gardner and Chalmers travelled to China during the Shanghai 2010 World Expo from Sept. 12 to 18 to meet with government and business representatives.
At Municipal Hall council chambers tonight (Oct. 12), the two Squamish representatives will be sharing their recently acquired knowledge about Chinese business practices, tips on getting into the Chinese market and key contacts here in Canada and in Shanghai.
The presentation begins at 7 p.m. and will be streamed live on the District of Squamish website at www.squamish.ca and also recorded for future viewing.
The trip created genuine interest in Squamish above and beyond Gardners expectations.
I came away from my visit to Shanghai being very excited about the future and the connections we made, said Gardner. I think that getting Sea to Sky Corridor on their [Chinas] radar was a smart decision.
He and Chalmers met with Canadian consul general Nadir Patel and trade commissioners Jordan Reeves, Albert Lee and Claire Zhang for several hours. Chalmers said instead of a structured presentation, more informal and friendly conversation about existing opportunities in Squamish lead to one of those feel-good working relationships.
In the end, the trade commissioners asked for a copy of the Squamish Oceanfront Development Corporation (SODC) video and more promotional brochures to present at their next trade commissioners meeting where 26 members from across the country will learn about economic development opportunities in Squamish.
Those are the types of working relationships you just cant foster through emails or over the phone, said Chalmers.
Quest University professor Fei Shi, who came to Canada after completing his bachelors and masters degree in Shanghai, translated the speeches.
Gardner and Chalmers brought six promotional brochures, translated into Mandarin covering a wide variety of topics including education, tourism, construction and development, marine industry, transportation and knowledge based industry.
On Sea to Sky day at the Canada Pavilion, Gardner and Chalmers joined West Vancouver-Sea to Sky MLA Joan McIntyre, Scott Carell from the Whistler Chamber of Commerce, Whistler planner Bill Brown and local high tech Squamish company Echoflex to present in front of 35 Chinese business representatives.
Gardner said the Sea to Sky presenters tried to attract businesses that represented the Squamish sectors namely marine and transportation, high tech education and tourism.
