"Do not force Chinese enterprises", and Canada changes its export?

Wilkinson, Minister of Natural Resources of Canada, said in an interview with Reuters recently that Chinese state-owned enterprise shareholders would not be forced to divest their shares from three large mining companies in Canada, because he was worried that policy uncertainty would undermine the confidence of future investors.

Reuters reported exclusively on the 8th that Wilkinson made the above statement during the meeting of the Canadian Exploration and Developers Association in Toronto on the 7th. He said: "If you start to look back at investment, there will be uncertainty about whether an investment is really an investment." Reuters said that three major Canadian mining companies are: Tec Resources, Ivanhoe Mining and First Quantum Mining. Their largest single shareholders are Chinese state-owned enterprises.

The background of Wilkinson's statement is that last November, the Canadian government forced Chinese enterprises to withdraw from the country's three lithium enterprises on the grounds of "national security". According to the report of the US "Benzinga" financial website, the Canadian mining industry is generally dissatisfied with this. They believe that lithium exploration is a long-term and high-risk investment relative to other mineral deposits. If Chinese investment is rejected, it will be difficult for Canadian mining enterprises, especially small and medium-sized mining enterprises, to attract funds. Not only Chinese investment, but also other commercial investment will become stagnant due to uncertain profit prospects. Reuters said that Wilkinson's statement was the first time that Canadian government officials clarified the prospects of Chinese enterprises, especially Chinese state-owned enterprises, to invest in Canadian mineral enterprises.

However, Wilkinson also said that Canada was still worried that Chinese state-owned enterprises would "control" Canadian companies through long-term off-take agreements and other mechanisms. But he also clarified that Canada would certainly continue to trade with China, including some trade that might involve key minerals. Radio Canada reported that Canada's imports from China in 2022 were worth more than 100 billion Canadian dollars for the first time, and its exports to China also set a record. The project manager of the Canadian Asia-Pacific Foundation, Ufimzeva, believes that although the economy and politics are closely linked, it will take time to reach the same goal. Before that, enterprises would always follow the trend of the world economy and seek profits.

Bai Ming, member of the Academic Degrees Committee of the Research Institute of the Ministry of Commerce of China, told the Global Times on the 9th that Chinese enterprises have mature technology and financial strength, which are the resources needed by Canadian mining enterprises. Therefore, objectively, there is a huge impulse for Chinese and Canadian enterprises to strengthen cooperation and seek mutual benefit and win-win results. Therefore, the Canadian government's practice of destroying the market economy by administrative means is bound to encounter resistance. Bai Ming said that Wilkinson's statement, on the one hand, is to pacify the market and maintain the status of Canada's market economy; On the other hand, it also shows that Canada's mining industry really needs to cooperate with Chinese enterprises.