Made In China

Made In China
HUNDREDS OF CANADIAN COMPANIES "MADE IN CHINA"

. The influx of Chinese investors who are affiliated with the triads or new associates of Beijing poses a new challenge to Canada's national security. The central point of thestrategy of the Chinese is first to buy a Canadian company so as to obtain a "local identity",legally concealing subtly their foreign identity. Then, using this acquisition, the Chinese-Canadian company invests heavily or buys other companies in various economic sectors,but always under the Canadian banner. In actual fact, control lies in Hong Kong or Beijing,and the financial benefits or fruits of research, often paid for by Ottawa or the provinces,are likely to make their way to Asia. (S)15. Hand in hand with their ethnicity and their commercial ambitions, the financial network of the Chinese entrepreneurs associated to the organized crime and to the power in Beijing has grown exponentially and very rapidly in Canada. Their influence over local, provincial and national political leaders has also increased. In the game of influence, several of theseimportant Chinese entrepreneurs have associated themselves with prestigious andinfluential Canadian politicians, offering them positions on their boards of directors. Many of those companies are China's national companies.16. The analysis of the information demonstrates that their attention was not initiallydirected towards sensitive sectors like high technology or other even more sensitive areas,but towards what might be called "soft" sectors such as: real estate, hotels, transportation,oil companies and travel agencies. Commercial sectors that at first sight do not involve any security risks and did not attract the attention of the Canadian services responsible for security. The scale of their ventures or investments has now made them some of the most important figures present in the major centres, and their decisions to invest in one place or another are not a matter of indifference to anyone. Such projects are seen by the local or national business community as a "favour" or a "chance" not to be missed. (S)CASE STUDIES17. It is estimated at the present time that over 200 Canadian companies are under Chinese control. These business are to be found in myriad sectors of the economy, rangingfrom multinationals to banking, high technology and real estate. Some typical cases arepresented here to illustrate the various scenarios that are clearly worrying for Canadian security. At first site, these individual cases do not seem to be a great threat. It becomes,however more disturbing when the ownership links between various sectors of Canadian enterprises are revealed. (S)Multinationals18.
CITIC (Canada) China International Trust Investment & Company(China International Trust & Investment Corporation)is the largest Chinese operating internationally. It hassubsidiaries operating in several Western countries, including the United States andCanada (Vancouver). Founded at the end of the 1970s, it now has assets worth US$23billion. Its subsidiary in Canada CITIC BC Inc., opened it doors in 1986. By 1995, itreported a turnover of CDN$250 million (1995). The projections for 1996 aimed for $290million. (UC)19. CITIC was initially established to encourage foreign investment in China. It has sincetaken the lead in Chinese investments outside China, in all areas from real estate toelectronics. In 1979 Beijing appointed to CITIC's board of directors three Hong Kongfinancial giants, Li Ka-Shing, Henry Fok Ying-Tung and Wang Foon-Shing. With their assistance, in the following years, the Beijing acquired important companies such as CathyPacific Airlines, Hong Kong Telecom and Star TV. In Canada, it is estimated that CITIC hasinvested nearly $500 million to buy up businesses in certain areas, such as Celgar PulpMill in British Columbia, Nova Corp Petrochemical in Alberta, real estate through HangChong Investments Ltd. and hotels. Eventually, CITIC developed also close business linkswith Power Corporation. (S)20. CITIC recently attracted American media attention in the scandal over illegal
contributions to the US Democratic Party and influence-peddling by the Chinese government (see section below). CITIC, China Resources and the Lippo Group [moving into the Okanagan, Kelowna] (in which inboth Li Ka-Shing is a large shareholder) are at the centre of the affair. CITIC chairman,Wang Jan, is also chairman of Poly Technology (see next section). CITIC has repeated the gesture by contributing through its Canadian subsidiaries to Canadian Political Parties.(UC)21. Norinco and Poly Technology (Poly Group). Northern Industrial Corporation (Norinco)and Poly Technologies (a subsidiary of Poly Group) are both owned by China and under the control of CITIC. They have subsidies around the world, including Canada (Montreal)and the United States. Poly Group was until recently head by Deng Xiaoping's son-in-law,He Ping, and is part of the entrepreneurial drive of the People's Liberation Army (PLA).Several large quantities of arms manufactured by Norinco have been confiscated on Indian reserves, especially those of the Mohawks. In May 1996, US authorities what theydescribed as the biggest arms seizure on American soil, confiscating 2,000 AK-47assaultrifles and other military weapons from a warehouse in California. The US-based Chinese representatives of Poly Technologies and Norinco were arrested in connection with this affair. Although the final destination of the arms has not been determined, the Amerindians"Warriors" and American militia trails are strongly suspected by US authorities.
In another incident, the Rex International Development company of Hong Kong, in which Norinco is the majority shareholder, is currently under investigation possibly subject to prosecution for exporting components for the manufacturing of chemical weapons toIran. Rex was established in 1982 as a joint venture with Norinco by Tsui Tsin-Tong, a financial partner of Li Ka-Shing. Tsui filed an application to emigrate to Canada in 1985 which has been renewed several times. His case is still not settled because he has never satisfied the Canadian authorities by providing adequate explanations of his contacts withthe PLA and the ChIS. Silver City Development Ltd., which holds shares in Rex, has been used for several years by the ChIS and the Chinese leadership as an investment front and cover. (S)23. Through the power of its multinationals industries and the billions of dollars they generate, China has been able to establish itself in the Western economy. This gave to thecountry an enormous advantage in the pursuit of gaining influence. In return through thesesubsidies and influences, they are able to open channels to facilitate access to Western power and traffic of illegal weapons and technology.