During Prime Minister Stephan Harper’s visit with Chinese officials and founder of Alibaba, Jack Ma, he brought back with him two things: A deal that would bring in trade using Chinese currency and Alibaba’s system of getting start ups off their feet and making money.

I personally am interested in the latter of the two because it will help many Canadian start ups on their way. But I do not know the full details yet. As per the article I read I am interested in Chinese currency being traded out of Toronto.

The reason this deal is huge for Canadian businesses is it will save companies that trade back and forth between Canada and China a lot of money. How? It will save them money because now they can trade directly from the Canadian dollar to the Chinese yuan without having to convert into American dollars. This is a good business tactic for both nations and their businesses because it will promote more trade between the two countries and as well it will foster better growth for start-up companies. Companies used to have to convert to American dollars and take longer to finalize deals because of the old exchange rates. Now business transactions can be made faster and easier. Among the deals made other topics included the Cherry industry in B.C, health sector deals, air travel and nuclear co-operation.

I am for this move by our government because it allows for bigger corporations to save money and invest in other aspects of their companies like CSR’s or innovations. I also like this deal because it allows even smaller businesses that rely on Chinese goods and manufacturing. Not to mention it promotes smaller and mid-sized companies to do business and provide goods and services in China. But on the other hand I am against this because it will cause an influx of Chinese investment in Canadian resources. This will cause Canadians to lose their jobs and our natural resources to be sold to foreign companies. As I read on in the article I found out that our PM did very little “business” except help banks make huge profits, neglecting Canadian citizens who have been locked up for months.

When it comes to doing business Stephan Harper is the guy for it, but when it comes to the well being of Canadians abroad and even at home, I’d look to the next guy. This deal ultimately does help businesses but at the expense of jobs.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/canada-china-sign-currency-deal-aimed-at-boosting-trade-1.2828707