The fear in Ottawa was that jobs and technology could be siphoned away to China, where intellectual property theft remains rife. As the National Post reported this week, almost 70 per cent of Canadians support a free trade deal with China, according to a University of British Columbia poll. The Prime Minister is likely to sign a reinvigorated Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement at APEC in Vietnam, albeit without the United States as a participant. The Chinese struck a free-trade deal with the Australians in 2015 that provoked fears Chinese companies would bring their own workers to build infrastructure projects. Canada would benefit from first mover advantage if it is next to strike trade deal with the dragon.

Source: National Post October 26, 2017 20:45 UTC