Responding to Chinese Demand: Canadian Industries’ Competitiveness and Capacity

This briefing is the second of two publications assessing Canadian opportunities in China. The publications’ goals are to help identify where Canada might focus its policy and business attention as it reinvigorates its economic relationship with China, and to help inform both the public policy agenda and Canadian business strategy. This briefing assesses the Canadian industries best positioned to respond to rising Chinese demand for goods and services, based on their competitiveness and capacity. It finds that Chinese demand is projected to rise for many of the goods and services in which Canada holds a global comparative advantage. These goods and services include agricultural products, processed food, manufactured products such as aircrafts, and services such as technical, financial, recreational, and entertainment. However, Canadian businesses will need to be creative, innovative, and strategic to identify market niches where Canada could build a presence in the global market.