Ambassador Lan with Mr. and Mrs. Norman Kwong

       Between June 1st and June 3rd, H.E. Lan Lijun, Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China to Canada, visited the Province of Alberta. During the visit, Ambassador Lan paid courtesy calls on the Hon. Norman Kwong, Lieutenant Governor and the Hon. Ken Kowalski, Speaker of the Legislative Assembly. He also met with the Hon. Ed Stelmach, Premier of Alberta and other government officials including ministers of energy, agriculture and tourism, attended the briefings by officials from various departments of the provincial government. Ambassador Lan met with His Worship Dave Bronconnier, Mayor of Calgary.

Ambassador Lan with Mr. Ed Stelmach

       During the meetings Ambassador Lan exchanged views with the local officials on China-Canada relations and the cooperation and exchanges between China and Alberta. Ambassador Lan exchanged views on China-Canada energy cooperation with heads and senior executives of major energy corporations including Shell Canada, Husky Energy, Enbridge and Sunwing. Ambassador Lan also visited the oil sands field in Fort McMurray. Minister Counsellor Jiang Shan of the Chinese Embassy and Consul General Wu Xinjian participated in the program as well.

Ambassador Lan's group with the mayor of Calgary

       In the meetings, Ambassador Lan indicated that Alberta, as a major province in Canada, is playing an important role in the political and economic life of Canada. The Chinese side attaches importance to developing friendly relations with Canada, Alberta included, and stands ready to work towards better understanding and friendship, expand friendly and mutually-beneficial cooperation, especially to enhance dialogues and cooperation in the areas of natural resources and energy so as to push for the steady improvement and development of the bilateral ties for the benefit of the two peoples.

Visiting the oil sands field

       The officials of Alberta said that the Government of Alberta attaches importance to developing relations with China and is pleased to see the fruitful cooperation and exchanges between the two sides over the years. China, already the 2nd largest export market of Alberta, is one of the top priorities for Alberta’s foreign cooperation. The Government of Alberta holds a positive attitude towards expanding cooperation with China and is willing to further expand the cooperation in the areas of agriculture, energy, mining, environment protection, science and technology as well as education.

       While in Alberta, Ambassador Lan also met respectively with representatives from the Chinese community and Chinese companies in Calgary and Edmonton.